Wind, Thunder and Flowers: Kaza's Story
by Pegelia Von Borrador
Summary: Sequel to Daughter of the Wind. When the curse returns, Kaza, the daughter of Sango and Miroku, leaves with the Inutachi to find the demon who's after her. But Kaza starts falling in love with a demon...Full Summary Inside
1. Introduction

**Full Summary** – One year after the Inu-tachi defeated Naraku for the final time, Kaza and her father, Miroku, wake up one morning to find that the Kazaana they worked so hard to abolish has returned again, and stronger than before. When a priestess tells them that they have one year to find and destroy the demon that's causing this or they will die, the Inu-tachi embarks on a new mission across Japan. Kaza and her family will have to call upon their allies, old and new, and all their varied strengths to survive. But there are new obstacles in the path for them – baby Kaida discovering her unique powers, Inuyasha, Shippou and Kirara contracting a demonic disease, and Naraku's incarnations coming back into play – and the journey will prove more arduous than anyone imagined. But when 16-year-old Kaza, the group's heart and soul, starts falling in love – with a _demon_ – will the Inu-tachi that beat all the odds be able to pull through for this one final task?

* * *

**WOO-HOO! Hello readers and welcome back to another wonderful installment in Pegelia's twisted version of Inuyasha! God it feels good to write fanfic again! Well, I just finished writing my novel, so I had to put off fanfic…but joskers pointed out to me that I'm finished with the novel so now I can start on the new story – YES!! Well, this chapter will be a short introduction and overview of what happened in Daughter of the Wind so you guys don't have to read the whole story again. I don't own Inuyasha, and Kaza's POV…let's go!!

* * *

**

Wind, Thunder and Flowers: Kaza's Story by Pegelia VonBorrador

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Hello. My name is Kaza. I'm sixteen. And when I was just fifteen years old, I single-handedly killed Naraku, the most powerful demon ever to cross Japan.

/crickets chirp/

Damn it! I hate it when the audience doesn't believe me! But I guess I should tell you the whole story of my life. It has been pretty interesting so far.

My mother is Sango, and my father is Miroku. My mom is an expert demon slayer, or Taijiya, one of only two left in all of Japan. My father is a traveling monk, who used to be under a curse by Naraku to have a wind tunnel – a Kazaana – in his right hand. They were both out to kill Naraku and traveled with the Inutachi, a traveling group who crossed Japan, looking for shards of the Sacred Shikon Jewel and basically trying to kill Naraku. There was Inuyasha, the hanyou son of the great dog demon lord; Kagome, a priestess from another time who could sense the jewel shards; Shippou, a young fox demon; Kirara, my mother's faithful cat demon and companion; and, of course, my parents. They traveled together for a year and slowly fell in love with each other.

Finally the group got close enough to Naraku to actually kill him. It was during the final battle that the tragedy happened that would send all their lives careening wildly off course. When Miroku tried to suck Naraku into the wind tunnel, Naraku held him by the neck, and the two were caught in a wild standstill. Deep magic was inflicted, and the two were lifted off the ground and suddenly vanished into the sky without a trace.

And that same night, my mother, Sango, found out she was pregnant with me.

So I was born nine months later, cursed with the Kazaana since birth. (So we're going to assume that's why my mom named me Kaza.) She moved out of Inuyasha and Kagome's house a year later and brought me up in a rural village. For most of my life I was a village girl with a single mother and a pet cat, whose only hobby was sucking barnyards into the cursed wind tunnel in my hand. But when I was fifteen, I realized that my Kazaana was a weapon I could use to find and kill Naraku – and finally find my father.

So I was given a Taijiya catsuit, my mom's sword and Kirara, and sent off to go find him. I recruited Inuyasha and Kagome – now married and living together in a small village – and Shippou, who was living in the forest. Eventually my mom even joined the group again, and we reached the field where my father had vanished fifteen years ago.

I didn't really know what to do at that point, so I tried the most desperate thing I could. I opened my Kazaana and attempted to suck my dad out of the sky.

But then – because my luck is seriously shitty – instead of my father that I sucked out, I got Naraku.

The battle wasn't going too well for our side. Inuyasha got injured pretty quickly, and my mom and the others just didn't have enough power to combat him. While I was battling him with my sword, he managed to stab me in the shoulder, seriously wounding me and taking me out of commission. But when he had taken everyone else down, and I was the only one left, I managed to summon enough energy to raise my hand and fight him with the Kazaana.

It hurt like hell, I can tell you. And though it seemed to work at first, Naraku began to resist the pull of the wind. It looked like he was finally going to get away – after all our hard work, after all our pain – when another set of winds appeared from across the plain. Naraku was torn in two by the force of the two opposing winds, and as I watched, grimly satisfied, one half of his body was sucked into my hand, the other half sucked into the other force of winds. And that's when my Kazaana, the cursed wind tunnel that I'd grown up with all my life, disappeared. Naraku was dead – the curse was broken.

I looked up then and realized that the other set of winds had actually come from another Kazaana. It was my father.

The reunion was amazing. My mother and everyone else hadn't seen him in fifteen years, and I'd never even known what my father looked like. It was beautiful and heartwarming, and I really believed then that I would have a happy ending.

About a month later, as we were traveling back to Inuyasha and Kagome's village, we got a job as hired demon slayers to kill a bear demon. While we were fighting him, he kidnapped me and carted me off to the countryside, where I was just thrown into a cave and left to die. I thought I was going to die, and while I was in there all hope of ever getting out and leading a normal life were just blown away. Then, a young man named Kohaku chanced upon me, and we started talking. All the while, unbeknownst to me, the Inutachi, Kouga and Kagura, which whom we'd made alliances, were streaking towards us.

Two days after I'd been captured, they reached me, and the fight that ensued was heated and thick. Kohaku rescued me from the cave, and we both plunged into the fight against the bear demon. I was actually having fun being in a fight again; until, of course, my parents showed up.

I mean, I was like happy to see them and everything. Until my mom revealed that Kohaku was actually her brother and my uncle; he'd been under Naraku's control for the past fifteen years; and they were the only two Taijiyas in all of Japan to survive.

Talk about secretive.

Then the demon unleashed a new attack on us. He could shoot glowing fireballs of energy from the back of his throat. Within fifteen minutes my dad, Inuyasha, Kouga and I were hit. And when I finally came to and saw the demon, that's when I realized that the demon was Naraku. He'd been trying to pull one last stunt and kill us all off.

I was the only one who could defeat him – I knew that by now. There was a rolling storm building up in my soul that I couldn't ignore. So I walked out to the battlefield, ready to face Naraku alone, and when he had me riled up enough, I unleashed the storm.

I actually have a disturbed ability to control the wind. I guess it just took Naraku in the form of a giant bear demon to make me realize it. The fight was short but hard. It was my wind versus his energy blasts, but I had all my raw fury and power on my side, and finally, Naraku, the demon from hell, was killed – blasted apart by lightning bolts and winds from a fifteen-year-old human girl.

So was that the happy ending? Sure as hell was. We deserved it after all the crap we'd been through.

After that, the entire group, now together and happy again, went back to Inuyasha and Kagome's village. My parents got married at last, and nine months later, Kagome and Inuyasha's baby girl, little Kaida, was born, healthy and kicking. It's been almost a year since then, and we've all been living happily since then.

But is that the end of the story? Of course not. I'm here talking to you, right? The trials weren't over yet for us.

So just sit back, listen, and let me tell you our story. The story of the Inu-tachi; the last two Taijiyas; the Daughter of the Wind; and everyone in between. Our story of love, hope, death, power, and a bunch of demon slayers who are just trying to find our happily ever after.

A story of wind, thunder and flowers.

* * *

**Now that's out of the way. For those of you who did not read Daughter of the Wind - the prequel to this - this prologue doesn't completely cover it. I left out some important stuff on purpose. So anyway, feel free to go back and read it - I promise it's not that long. So anyway, thank you all, and please review! - Pegelia **


	2. Something Bad

Chapter 2 – Something Bad

"Kaza. Kaza."

"Mmmphm."

Who's trying to wake me up? Too early. No. Want sleep. Sleepy sleepy sleep.

"Wake up, Kaza."

"Idonwanna."

"Do you want food?"

Clutching the thin blanket, I peeled open my eyes and saw my mother, Sango, staring benignly down at me. She looked sickly happy for so early in the morning.

"That's a good question."

"Oh, come on." She poked me. Ow. Not good. "It's at Kagome's. She's a much better cook than I am."

I quickly calculated. It was at Kagome's. That meant there was ramen. And ramen meant both Inuyasha and baby Kaida would be in a good mood.

"Okay, I'm up." Still sleepy, blinking the heaviness out of my eyes, I threw the first yukata I saw, not even bothering to tie on the obi. Who cared if they saw my inner kimono? I slouched across the short pathway from our hut to Inuyasha's, pushing aside the door covering with my eyes still closed.

"Kagome, you are the most friggin' infuriating woman! I can't believe this!"

"Oh yeah, so now this is totally my fault?! God, Inuyasha, no wonder I'm the only one who would sleep with you!"

"WHAT THE HELL - ? KAGOME – "

"SIT! SIT SIT SIT SIT! DAMN IT, INUYASHA! I AM SO TIRED OF THIS!"

My eyes flew open. Kagome had her hands planted on her hips, cocoa-brown eyes set and determined. Not to mention triumphant at her husband and lover splayed on the floor, dragged down by the magic spell that only Kagome could control. Shippou was trying to pacify baby Kaida, who was screaming her lungs out with hunger. The cauldron was boiling over.

And to add to this perfect scene was my father, sitting on the floor and sipping sake, looking just as patient and serene as a friggin' Buddha. Kirara was next to him, nibbling on catnip.

"Good morning, Kaza." He said sweetly.

Kagome whipped around. "Kaza! Sango! Could you guys get the pot? And don't mind stepping on that puppy on the floor, he's just a throw rug – NEVER DOES ANY WORK EVEN THOUGH HE HAS A SIX-MONTH BABY!" She yelled. I shared a look with my mom. Post-partum morning sickness – who knew it existed?

I walked over to the cauldron, taking care not to step on Inuyasha, who was trying to push himself up. Kagome stepped over to her baby, smiling at Shippou, and after picking up Kaida, pulled down her kimono and let her breast-feed. I had extinguished the fire and my mom and me were ladling soup out to bowls. When Kagome first breast-fed the baby it might have freaked me out, but now it didn't even bother me. Baby Kaida was now six months old, and we're trying to ween her. But seeing as she won't eat anything yet but breast-milk and ramen, it's not going so well.

I finally sat down, sighing, and Shippou squeezed next to me at the low table. I gave him a quick hug and ruffled his hair, and then dove into the soup, ignoring the burning hot liquid that scalded my throat. Inuyasha finally got up, and ignoring glares from Kagome, soon was practically breathing in the soup.

We ate in silence for a while, save for Kaida's little grunts and rustles. Finally, my mom said timidly.

"We haven't gone on a trip in a while. Maybe – "

"Over my dead body, Sango." Kagome spat.

"Why not?" Inuyasha growled.

"'Cause Kaida's way too young to go anywhere. With all the barbaric ways we have to live out there, it's hardly fit for a baby."

"Barbaric my ass! Just because you're from the future or whatever doesn't mean we're _barbaric_, you know! And you were perfectly _fine_ with traveling in those _barbaric_ ways a long time ago, I remember."

"Sure. When I was fifteen years old. Reality check, Inuyasha."

I rolled my eyes to myself. My parents were pointedly ignoring this by now. I think both of them were secretly happy they weren't together when I was Kaida's age, or else it might turn out like _this_.

"Oh, come on. Kaida's a quarter demon, she can handle a little roughage." Inuyasha was saying.

"Sure. Kaida's also six months old. That's hardly what I'd call capable."

"Well, if you're so dead set about her not coming, _you_ can stay home, Kagome. Goddamn you are annoying."

"I'm _annoying_? That's what I am? Would you like the 's'-word so hard the fur flies off?"

"Is that a challenge, wench?"

"Well," I cut in, standing up, "I think now is a perfect time for me and my dearest father to go have combat practice for the day. Any complaints?" Before he could shoot me down, I said, rapid-fire, "Okay, great, sounds good, Dad I'll bring out your staff, Mama, would you get my bowl, 'kay, bye!"

Dropping my bowl by the fireplace, I fairly sprinted out of the hut, grabbing my sword and Dad's staff on the way.

* * *

I breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as I was out of the hut. Our two huts were situated right on the brink of a forest, so there was a solid wall of trees facing me. I loved it – it reminded me of when I'd traveled all through these forests. I dropped the weapons and sat down, taking a deep breath of the clean air. A thin breeze kicked up at my ankles, and I exhaled deeply. Why couldn't all life be like this?

Then my mom poked her head out of the hut. I turned around. "Hey, Kaza, use Hiraikotsu today, okay?"

"Whaaaat?!" I said. "I hate Hiraikotsu, Mama! Why the hell should I practice with it?"

"Builds upper body strength." She pulled out the giant bone boomerang and tossed it to me as easily as if it was a pillow. I got up and almost staggered backwards with its weight as it knocked all the air out of me. As it stood there, gasping and coughing, she smiled sweetly, said, "Thank you, baby," and then ducked back inside as my father walked out.

I threw Hiraikotsu to the ground. "DAMN THIS! Why the hell should I practice with this stupid boomerang?! She's the only one who can even pick it up! This is so _retarded_!"

"She's right, you know." Miroku said. "Hiraikotsu does build your upper body strength. It's a very great weapon to use if you want to learn how to handle heavy objects with grace and ease."

"Oh, screw grace." I grumbled, slipping my fingers into the cloth holds wrapped around the boomerang tips. Gingerly getting to my feet, I tested Hiraikotsu's weight against my body, flexing my shoulders and sliding my fingers over the cloth, finding a comfortable position. My dad picked up his golden staff, and we slowly started to spar.

"So," I said, lightly lopping the boomerang over his head, "what were Inu and Kags fighting about again?"

"Kaida was in a grumpy mood," he answered, blocking it with his staff, "so Kagome was automatically on edge. I think Inuyasha just managed to push her buttons this morning."

"Did you guys ever do that?"

"Sure. All the time. Inuyasha threatened to kill me the first time I groped Kagome." He jabbed at my stomach, and I smoothly leapt back and swung Hiraikotsu in towards his legs. It hit his shins, and he would've gone down if he hadn't stuck his staff into the ground and pushed himself back up.

"Aw, damn you, just lose." I said under my breath.

"Not so easily, Kaza." He suddenly reached out, and without me even realizing it, totally disarmed me by knocking Hiraikotsu out of my hand. I stood there for a second, shocked, until I felt the cold, sharp metal point of his staff at my neck.

"You're much too loose with that weapon." Miroku said, a smug smile on his lips. "Be quicker, sharper. That's a weapon of mass destruction if I've ever seen one, but it's only if you use it aggressively. Otherwise it's just a giant hunk of demon bone that you can't control. Your mother never would have let me disarm her that easily."

He backed off, still grinning smugly, as I, scowling, bent down and picked up the boomerang. One of the little jingles had fallen off, and my dad was immersed on trying to get it back on. My brain started working. I put both my hands in the cloth strips, the better to control it. Slowly, quietly, I straightened up, making no noise. My heart was slamming with adrenaline. He had no clue. I raised the boomerang over my head with both hands, and then with a loud yell, brought it slamming down.

It was a friggin' brilliant attack, I thought. Too bad my father has like the best reflexes on the whole damn earth. Just before Hiraikotsu was going to hit him full-on, he did a round-off back handspring behind him, quick as a hawk, and then launched his staff at me. I blocked it in the nick of time, then roared and totally launched Hiraikotsu at him. I was totally on a roll.

After a while of fighting him though, it struck me as odd how perfectly he could block Hiraikotsu. I mean, I know I wasn't that good. But he must've had practice by blocking my mom's attacks. And my mom can even slay full-grown demons with one well-placed swing of the boomerang. It made me wonder how much they had fought to get this good.

Finally my dad plunged the staff into the ground, breathing heavily. Grinning, he looked up at me and said,

"Damn, child, I said you should be aggressive. I didn't mean try and decapitate me."

"That's aggressive on my terms, Daddy dearest." I said roguishly, leaning on Hiraikotsu. I was exhausted, but I could still feel the energy pumping through my entire body from the tips of my ears to my toes. It felt good to fight – it's always been the one thing I've been good at.

"So you've never used Hiraikotsu before?" He asked.

"Well, a couple of times." I said, stretching my arms. "Mama taught me. I think she wanted to make sure I would always knew how to fight, even if I had to use her weapon. But Hiraikotsu was always her thing. I much preferred using the Kazaana and my sword."

"The Kazaana was a good weapon. Quick, efficient, deadly…" He agreed absentmindedly. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He suddenly turned to me and said,

"Do you ever miss it, Kaza?"

His violet-blue eyes looked out at me, gleaming like the surface of a still lake, filled to the depths with the serenity and peacefulness of life. I couldn't help but smile.

"All the time." I looked back at him, mirroring his eyes. When I was little, I thought it was weird how I didn't have my mom's chocolate eyes. But now, I thought that maybe I'd gotten the better part of the deal.

That's when suddenly the feeling started in my gut. Like there was a big rock stuck in my stomach. Then that rock turned into a thunderstorm, crashing and rolling till the lightning reached even my fingertips. I started to sway, the world going gray at the edges, as my dad came over to me, concerned. There was a wind in the clearing now, a stiff gust that blew around my hair and turned the sky smoky gray.

My fingers groped blindly for Hiraikotsu, straining to grab hold of anything to keep my balance. The wind slapped my hair over my face, and that's when I completely went unconscious.

* * *

The world was dark. Roiling, tumbling, churning like the depths of the sea, the world was black. Then a wolf streaked past me. A raven flew down from the sky. One great white dog stared at me with dark red eyes. Two swords gleamed in the darkness. One was the Tetsusaiga. A bear demon stalked past, eyes as black as jet, great claws scraping on the dirt. Black winds destroyed everything in sight. Hiraikotsu screamed through the sky. A baby cried somewhere. Kirara roared.

I was so confused, floating around in the darkness, as the beings flew past me. I couldn't comprehend what they were, they were coming way too fast. Too fast…

A demon bared its fangs in my face. An arrow hurtled from the darkness. Two beings were fighting off in the distance. A forest loomed before me, dark and menacing. A demon that looked like Inuyasha with claws as red as blood massacred a village as women screamed. Silver metal flashed as a sickle cut someone down. Feathers rained from the sky. Spiders crawled. Kagome screamed. The golden staff of my father flashed before me. I was riding on the back of a beautiful demon. Kaida's eyes were afire with hate as winds built around her tiny body. And a girl in a white dress holding a mirror was directly before me with deep black eyes, as her little voice resonated in my mind…_Beware, Daughter of the Wind…

* * *

_

"Kaza!"

I gasped and sat up.

My father was looking over me, concerned. The skies were a thick gray, winds whipped my fragile body, and I shivered and whispered,

"Something's coming. Something bad."

* * *

**Ooooh...foreshadowing much? Lol. Well I was just having fun seeing how much prophecy I could probably cram into two paragraphs, and I'm sorry if it was kinda confusing, but you know how I work. Everything she saw will come true at one point, so you should watch out. Anyway, thank you all for your support - I liked how this chapter came out, and I hope you guys did too! Please review, arigatou!**


	3. Simultaneous Release

Chapter 3 – Simultaneous Release

I dreamed of black swirling winds all night. It wasn't really an uncommon occurrence for me, but what was weird was that I hadn't had this dream for over a year – since back when I still had the Kazaana.

So you know, I really should've seen it coming. The day before I had a vision. That night, I had a dream about wind that I hadn't had for a year. You would think that a normal person could've figured it out. But this is Kaza we're talking about. If you still thought I was normal after what happened last year, then that's just retarded.

Mumbling, I pulled my eyes open when the first rays of sunshine pushed their way through my eyelids. I licked my lips and slowly looked down to where my hand was lying, poised over my face.

The black hole of the Kazaana was staring right back at me from the palm of my right hand.

"Oh no," I breathed, scrambling out of bed. My brain started racing, and yet I couldn't think anything other than frantic, jumbled thoughts. And in the depths of my brain, in the very center of my soul, the winds were starting to roll.

_Kazaana, Kazaana, what do I do? It's back, no, no, it can't be back…_The winds were starting to pull at my body, sucking the ends of my hair into its depths. I pointed it down to the floor. The winds weren't too strong. I wasn't in too much danger yet.

_Shit, shit, how do I stop it? I know there's something – damn it, why the hell can't I think of it?! I had this wind tunnel for fifteen years and I can't figure out how to stop it!_ I started to bite my lip as the winds climbed up my bones.

_ROSARY! ROSARY! _My brain snapped suddenly, and I went over to where my chest stood, filled with mementos of the good old days. With one hand I dug frantically around, pushing things onto the floor in my haste, praying and hoping I kept my rosary. Finally when my hand found the small, cold beads I dragged it out and wrapped it around my wrist.

The winds stopped.

I sucked in a deep breath.

I already knew my life had gone spiraling downhill.

My fingers touched another rosary at the bottom of my chest. As I started to ponder it, I saw my father sleeping, curled around my mom, and my heart stopped cold.

"Dad!" I barked, getting up and running over. I shook him desperately. "Dad, get up! Now!"

"What is it, Kaza?" He grumbled, his eyes not even open yet.

"KAZAANA!" I screamed. "The Kazaana is back!"

"It was just a bad dream, Kaza, go back to sleep." He said, turning around to go back to sleep.

"Holy shit, Dad, just listen to me!" I grabbed his right hand and shoved it in front of his face. "LOOK!"

The blue-violet eyes peeled open and saw the wind tunnel, in all its black glory, right in the palm of his hands.

"Get me a rosary, Kaza," He snapped, sitting up, immediately awake. I handed him the extra and he expertly twisted it around his wrist.

Finally both of us were safe, and we looked at each other. His eyes were calm, collected, his hand still clutching the rosary beads. I was scared to hell by now, quivering where I stood.

"How - ?"

"Kaza, go wake up Inuyasha and Kagome." He said quietly. "I'll get your mother. We need to think of a plan, quickly."

* * *

"Oh, shit." Was what Inuyasha said when I showed him my hand. "It's back." 

I nodded, still dazed, barely comprehending why on earth it was happening to us now. My mom, dad and Kirara trooped in, my mother with her butter becan eyes huge. Kagome woke up, pushing her thick hair out of her face and slowly rousing Shippou. Silently, so as not to wake Kaida, we all sat around the low table.

"What happened?" Kagome said, eyeing me.

"I don't know." I whispered. "I just woke up and it was right there in front of me. The winds were already pretty strong. I got a rosary, then got Dad to wake up and put on the rosary. And yeah." I finished lamely.

"I just can't believe it's back." Sango said. "I mean, the Kazaana lasts as long as Naraku is alive, right? We killed him over a year ago. And why now would it come back? It's so totally out of the blue."

"I killed him _twice_." I corrected. "I mean, shouldn't he stay dead?"

"It's been dormant for a year." Inuyasha said, crossing his arms. "If Naraku was suddenly alive I probably would have smelled him by now. Even if he was alive, and powerful enough to create a barrier, where would he get all that power? It doesn't make sense."

"So what should we do about it?" Shippou asked.

Miroku looked down at his wrist. "It's not very strong. It's hardly even a wind tunnel at all. I'm not in very much danger."

"Yeah, but look at mine." I said, holding out my hand. They could see how the winds pulled at the beads. "Mine is a lot stronger. I mean, there were already winds when I woke up. It could have done some damage if I hadn't put the rosary on when I did."

They were all staring at me, pressing me for more information with their eyes. I fiddled with the beads under the table, my palms sweaty.

"And, um…" I said, softer now, "the winds inside me…they've started too. Right when I saw the Kazaana. They started building."

They shared a look; the look that parents always give when their kid has just told them something bad, but they think they're being nice by not completely telling us how sucky the situation really is.

"What does it mean?" I said, trying to cut the crap.

There was a tense silence for a second until Inuyasha spat, "They're challenging you."

"Challenging me?"

"They're trying to get you out of hiding. They want you to come to them. I mean, it's obvious that your wind tunnel is much stronger than Miroku's. Means they're going to sweat you out. It's a call. They want you."

"Who wants me?"

"How the hell should we know?

"What do we do now?" I stammered.

"What do we do?" My mom said, eyebrows arching together. "We find them and kill them, that's what we do. You guys can't last too long with a wind tunnel that strong already."

"Yeah, but who knows who this new demon is?" Kagome put in. "I mean, I'm all for going out and getting them, but it might take a long time. And we do have to put into account that we've got a six-month old on board, and we're all getting much older."

"You don't have to do it." I said quietly. "I mean, I can go out and kill him by myself. I could probably do it."

"I'm coming, Kaza." My dad said, gazing down at me. "Even if we can't risk Kagome and the baby with us, I'm going to go."

"Me too." Sango butted in.

"Why the hell not?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Us too!" Shippou cried, and Kirara mewed.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Kagome smiled. "I love how you guys all just assume that because Kaida's a baby means I'm going to stay home and take care of her. We're going to come whether you guys like it or not."

"Oh, so you're going to go into the _barbaric_, uncivilized world out there?" Inuyasha spat.

"You bet we are." Kagome grinned. "And you know you would miss me, Inuyasha."

"Feh." He said, glaring at me with amber eyes. "So, Kaza…what's next?"

"I dunno."

"Well…" My mom said slowly, "There's a priestess a little ways off we might try..."

We looked at each other, and I shrugged, already anticipating the worst.

* * *

She had beautiful blue eyes. 

The priestess that answered the door when we came to her house the next day had the most gorgeous blue eyes. Like a clear sunny day without any clouds, or the feathers of a bluejay, her eyes were a crystal blue that stood out from her snow-white face. She had long brown-black hair tied in a ribbon, and looked barely older than I was.

"Good afternoon," she said, in a voice so soft I could barely hear her. "Can I get something for you?"

"We wanted to know if we could ask you some things." I stammered. Her eyes moved over to survey the entire party standing behind me – Inuyasha with his arms crossed, looking mad, Kagome with the baby, my mom with Kirara on her shoulder, and my dad holding Shippou. One eyebrow raised slightly.

"Of course, come in." She said, pulling back the cloth from the door.

When we were all seated, she poured us sake in the little cups, then sat down, looking right at me. "I am Satoko, the priestess of this town. What may I do for you?"

"My name's Kaza." I said, gesturing to everyone. "These are my parents, Miroku and Sango, and also Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippou, Kirara, and baby Kaida."

"How old?" She said to Kagome.

"Six months." Kagome said, shifting Kaida. "She's usually very rambunctious, but right now she's sleeping."

She smiled gently, and then her eyes suddenly darted to my right hand. "Why do you have those rosary beads around your wrist?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you about." Taking a deep breath, I pointed my hand at the floor, and as I said, "Be careful," I whisked off the beads. The winds began immediately, even stronger than before, and the room filled with the swirling rushing sound. After a moment, I wrapped the beads back around and looked at Satoko for her reaction. She didn't even look that fazed.

"A wind tunnel curse from Naraku." She said casually, looking at my father. "Would you be Miroku, one of the demon hunters of Naraku? The one who has had that curse in your family for three generations?"

"Four generations." I grumbled under my breath, as my dad nodded. "How did you know it was me?" He asked.

"I think you asked my mother to bear your child." She said with a sardonic smile.

His eyes widened and his face dropped. Me and Inuyasha snorted as Sango gave him a deathglare that would have knocked a demon dead.

"You're not my child, are you?" He stammered.

"No, don't worry." Satoko grinned. "You left before anything could happen. It was years and years ago, before I was even born. My mother told me, a long time ago, about a priest – "

"Monk." He interjected.

"Excuse me." She said, with another little smile. "A monk who had proposed to her. She said he was cursed by Naraku with an immortal wind tunnel, and that the only thing he'd told her was that the curse lasted as long as Naraku was still alive."

"That's the problem." I said. "I killed Naraku a year ago. Twice. So it's unnatural that now, of all times, for the curse to return. We can't think of what could possibly cause it to come back now. Naraku has been dormant, if not dead, for over a year."

"It's not Naraku." She said darkly, coming over to observe my hand. She fingered the beads delicately, letting the tips of her fingers brush over the tips of the beads. The ivory beads glittered in the candlelight and I felt a cold wind wash over me. "It's not Naraku. It's something else. If it was Naraku, I would have felt it."

"Why would you have felt it?" Kagome said suspiciously.

"I am the successor of Kikyo." Satoko said, catching Kagome's eyes.

"And I'm her reincarnation." Kagome leveled her brown eyes on the girl. "How can you be her successor? I thought Kaede died years ago."

"She did. My parents were killed a long time ago. She took me in, and pretty soon realized I had a natural knack for sensing Naraku and the jewel shards. Since she died, I've been here ever since, keeping a hold over this place and looking out for jewel shards. And I haven't felt Naraku at all."

Kagome still glared at the girl, but my father took over. "None of us have scented Naraku either. That's what's so weird. We thought Naraku was the only one who had the power to create wind tunnels. So it must have been someone of equal power or vengeance to curse us."

"And there's this," I said, holding out my father's hand. "Look. Mine is a lot stronger and more dangerous than his. Inuyasha thinks they're targeting me."

"They probably are." She said, reaffirming my worst fears. "If you were the girl who really killed Naraku, it's very likely they're after you. I'm sure you all understand how demons work – you're demon slayers, aren't you? – " She said, shooting my mom a glance, "So you should know that demons are after power. They're probably thinking that if they consume or defeat you, they'll assume all your power. Most of them probably don't know you're a human."

"So what do you want us to do?" My mother said. She'd kept quiet this whole time, but now her eyes were burning. "Who do we hunt down? How much time do we have?"

"Quiet, Taijiya." Satoko barked. "Do you think I'm psychic? I don't know all the secrets of the world. Let me see the wind tunnel. I might be able to gleam some answers."

My mother's eyes were narrowed at the blatant disrespect, but she wisely kept quiet. Inuyasha started shifting around, ears pricked. I gave my hand to Satoko, who gently brushed away the beads.

"That's the wind tunnel – " I gasped, but she cut me off.

"Don't worry. It won't harm me." She whispered, eyes immersed as the winds began to suck at her long hair. Her finger traced the outline of the tunnel, sending shivers down my nerves. It was true – though the winds were pretty strong, it didn't seem to affect her at all.

We stayed there for a quite a while – poised, still, with Satoko gazing into the vast nothingness of the Kazaana. The entire group was frozen, waiting for her verdict. Somewhere during this, Shippou had moved over to my side, and was clutching my other hand with his little paws. It helped a bit, and I scratched behind his ears as my other arm started to go numb from Satoko holding it. Her blue eyes were completely immersed in what she was doing, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was getting some sign from beyond, some message from the gods.

Finally she snapped. Her entire body went to attention, her eyes refocused, and she said quietly, "Kaza, I'm sorry. I can't tell you who's hunting you. There's just no way to tell. There's too many possibilities."

I was silent, sensing that there was more.

"But I can tell you," she said slowly, "that if you don't find and kill the demon that's hunting you within one year, you will die."

My heart stopped.

"Both of you." She said, sliding her eyes over to my dad. "I'm sorry."

"One year?" Inuyasha said. "We have one year to find this guy and he could be anywhere? Even on the mainland?"

"I'm pretty sure the demon's in Japan, but I couldn't tell you." She said, dropping my hand and covering it with the beads. "There's a million possibilities. But at the rate this Kazaana is growing, and the unnatural aura that surrounds it, I can almost assuredly tell you you've only got a year before you lose control of it and – "

"It sucks us up just like my father." My dad said quietly. His body was rigid.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do." She said, sounding concerned.

"It's okay. Thanks for all your help." Miroku said, standing up. "You've been very kind."

"I wish you all good luck in your journey." Satoko said, drawing back the curtains. "If I hear any news I'll send it to you."

Inuyasha grunted at her and Kagome smiled as we left. I was the last one out, and she smiled at me, her blue eyes crinkling up.

"Kaza. Stay strong." She said. "I have no doubt you can handle it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to come back here."

"Th-thank you, Satoko." I said. "May your have luck in your life as well."

She waved at us as I hopped onto Kirara and we rode off. No one talked on the way home – we are all too preoccupied with our thoughts.

As I lay in my bed that night, cuddled up with Kirara, I looked at my wind tunnel and thought about what she said. One year. The demon could be anywhere in Japan. It seemed really daunting. What chance did one little girl stand against all the demons of Japan?

* * *

**Hey guys. Stupid fanfiction wouldn't let me upload this document - cuz it's f--king retarded - but whatever. Oh, and about the title - well, I couldn't really think of anything, and I was listening to 'Dani California' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the refrain goes, 'California, rest in peace, simultaneous release', and I'm like, 'Sweet, that's what I'll call the chapter!' So...yeah. Lol. Thanks for all the awesome reviews, you guys r great. I promise it gets interesting in the next chapter. Till next time - PVB**


	4. And the Thunder Rolls

Chapter 4 – And the Thunder Rolls

She sat beneath the sweeping branches of a weeping willow, long tendrils of leaves drooping to the ground and hiding her from sight. Feeling the gentle, cold touch of tears behind her eyelids, she tried to brush them away. Crying was for young, weak girls who couldn't control their emotions, who couldn't understand what was happening to them. Crying was for girls who didn't know what to do, who were too weak to take any action. She didn't cry. It just wasn't done. Crying was a sign of weakness. Crying was showing that you were giving up. And giving up was the worst thing one could possibly do.

She resolutely kept wiping away the tears as strands of her thick black hair fell over her face. Pushing them back, she put her forehead on her knees and drew her body inward. It was very strange, to be feeling this weak. Then again, there wasn't much she could do. She had no power, no choice in this. There was no reason for her to be feeling his helpless, and at the same time there were all the reasons in the world.

Clutching fistfuls of the deep blue silk of her kimono, the girl sighed. It was almost over. Just a little more. She could handle it for just a little more. Until then, she quieted the impatience growling in her soul, like quieting a hunting dog, jowls quivering and hair on end in anticipation of the hunt, in anticipation of feeling flesh tear, blood trickle, bones snap.

In tense patience she waited for the sunrise, fingers interwinding with her thick black locks, knees pressed to her chest, eyes barely holding back the tears. All her muscles tensed, ready for the beautiful golden sun to shine once more.

And when it finally came, pushing the darkness back into the horizon, a grin finally split her lips, and she stood up and pushed back the branches of the willow to stand in the light of the sun.

Warm tingles shot through her frame, shooting through the coiled muscles lined up in her body. She smiled, a tiny fang blossoming on the side of her lips. She seized a shock of hair and saw that it was now white as snow, white as the fur of a dog. Tiny claws were slowly forming at the tips of her fingernails. Her tiny humanoid ears disappeared, and tiny perked dog ears unfurled at the top of her head.

This was how she belonged, this was how she was supposed to look. The moonless night was over. Her period of weakness was gone. She was a hanyou again, the most powerful hanyou ever to cross the earth, so powerful, so headstrong she could take any challenge given to her. She wasn't weak anymore. She wasn't a human.

She was the hanyou daughter of the dog demon lord of the West. And though it was a far cry from what she wished she was, it was better than the one night a month she spent as a human.

Her optimism quickly turned sour when the great stone castle came into view. Pushing her hair out of her face, she steeled her reserve for her father's questioning. Throwing her shoulders back, she strode straight over the field and mounted the stairs, heart throbbing with every step.

And there he was standing at the door, motionless as a statue, watching her with those piercing amber eyes. She swallowed. A mad Lord Sesshoumaru was not what you wanted to see first thing in the morning.

"Were you seen?" He asked, in that gruff, emotionless voice of his.

"No. I was under the willow again." She answered, glaring at him.

"Are you sure? You are reckless at times."

"You think I'd want some traveling monk to see me when I'm a human?" She spat, and then pushed past him into the castle. And still he stood there, his alabaster face as devoid of emotion as a statue's.

Storming into the kitchen, she plopped down on the floor, not even bothering to fold her legs underneath her. Her mother turned around with a smile.

"Good morning, Nariko."

She grunted in reply.

"Were you seen?"

"Goddamn," Nariko growled, drumming her nails on the table in impatience, "for the last time, I know how to hide myself. No one would have seen me even if they had a torch in my face."

"I know, sweetie, but you never know. I found a lot of demons who were trying to hide when I went snooping around." She came over, plopping down a plate of vegetables with a large chunk of deer meat. "Eat."

She raised an eyebrow, the tantalizing aroma filtering into her nostrils. "Whoa. Deer meat. That's rare."

"Lord Sesshoumaru went out and got it."

"My father?"

"I told him it was your favorite. He knows you're leaving, you know." Rin said, her soft brown eyes fixed intently on her daughter. "It's not that he's completely tuned out to you."

"Then why does he act like I don't exist most of the time?" Nariko shoveled deer meat into her mouth, ears alert for her mother's answer.

After a minute, Nariko looked up to see that her mother was slowly going back to cooking the vegetables, without giving her daughter an answer. It stung her deep, right in the bottom of her soul, making the tears jump up. Of course. That was a question her mother couldn't answer. That was a question all the scholars of Japan couldn't answer.

Deep down, Nariko, pushing around her veggies, knew she knew the answer. No one wanted to say it outside. She couldn't. The pain would cut too deep, and she could never recover.

She was an accident. She wasn't supposed to be here at all. It would only be purely by accident that Lord Sesshoumaru, the most poised and powerful of all demons, could have slept with a human girl of barely twelve. She didn't know the circumstances under which it could have happened, under which Sesshoumaru could have fallen in love with a little girl, barely out of puberty. Did he rape her? Was she seduced? Did she do it out of free will?

But it wasn't supposed to happen. Sesshoumaru was supposed to cover it up. The girl didn't know what she was doing. But it went all downhill. Nothing was ever right after that.

And nine months later, she was born. A half-demon. A girl who bore her father's hair and eyes. A little child who symbolized everything her father hated in this world.

It was a question not even King Solomon could have said out loud. Why did Lord Sesshoumaru ignore his only daughter, his flesh and blood, born from the human girl he loved most? In the depths of her soul, Nariko knew he despised the very memory of her. The very fact that she existed was a physical presence of what he'd done wrong, of the mistake he'd made. It was a sin to fall in love with a mortal. A hanyou was the very epitome of immortal punishment, of what went wrong between a demon and a human. He couldn't stand mistakes – perfection was his vice. And not only had he had a hanyou child, but she was a girl. Nariko knew he hadn't expected anything out of her since the day she'd been born.

So that's why she went into training when she was so young. Training, day in and day out, to become the strongest hanyou to ever cross the earth, and prove she was her father's daughter. She could take on most demons without a backward glance or even breaking a sweat. She could cut through barriers, annihilate armies, and summon enough power to make a supernova where she stood. And yet once a month she was rendered as helpless as a baby.

And that was why she was leaving the home she'd grown up in to take on the world, make a name for herself and make her father proud of her. She was only thirteen years old, but Nariko knew she'd been training for this her whole life.

When she got back to her room to change out of her old kimono into some traveling clothes, she hardly missed the cold stonewalls. There wasn't much, just a low bed, a bookshelf with some old family scrolls, and a chest with clothes and personal mementos. Nariko donned a thin shift, then a deep gold traveling kimono that was looser in the legs. Underneath it, of course, she had a tightly woven fighting suit of imported cotton and leather. She had to be prepared for battle, right?

Just as she was about to leave, a traveling pack on her back and a thin sword at her hip, she took one last look around the room, amber eyes alighting briefly on the warm, deep cotton sheets of her bed, where she'd cried herself to sleep many a night. Just before she left, on a sudden flash, she threw open the chest and pulled out a tiny amulet made of pure amethyst, carved in the shape of a half moon – the same mark on her father's forehead. She'd had a gypsy carve it for her years ago.

Sliding it down the front of her kimono, Nariko walked out of the room, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead.

In the kitchen, her mother, just as expected, had a bag already made with food to last at least a week. Nariko couldn't help but throw herself into Rin's warm embrace, letting herself lean into her mother. Rin was in her early twenties and had the tiniest body Nariko had ever seen, but that didn't mean she was short on love. She pulled her daughter close to her, rocking her, and whispered in her ear,

"Nariko, baby, if you're ever in trouble, if anything ever happens, you can always come back here. We'll protect you."

"Thank you, Mama," she whispered back, "but I'll be fine on my own."

"I know, I know." Rin handed her daughter the bag and smiled. "Let's go. Your father's waiting."

_Waiting for what? _She thought surprisingly as they walked to the front door. _To give me another lecture about keeping myself hidden? Oh yeah right. He would never lecture. He only has twenty words in his vocabulary anyway._

Sesshoumaru was waiting for them as they reached the front door. He was standing just as aloof as always, eyes fixed on his daughter. It was one of the first times he'd ever looked at her this directly before. Nariko slid her eyes upward and glared right back.

He said, "Keep yourself safe. Don't do anything you know you can't do."

"I know. I'm not a child you know." She replied. "I can handle myself."

His lip twitched up in what could have been a fraction of a smile, and he said, "Good."

_Good? Is that a compliment? I'm probably just hallucinating. _Her mother gave her one last hug and said, "Be safe, dear. I know you can do it. I love you."

"I love you too, Mama." She said quietly, then turned to her father for a moment before turning and walking away.

She was halfway down the steps when she heard her father's voice call her name –

"Nariko."

Sesshoumaru was walking down the steps towards her, and her breath caught in her throat when he saw him pulling out the great sword of the fang – Tenseiga.

"As your first challenge," he said, "if you choose to accept it, is to master this sword before you return back here. It will heal a hundred souls in one swing if it decides to obey you, but it will not kill. Treat it with respect, for it was my father's. His blood runs in your veins – by birthright, it should be yours."

"Oh my God," she whispered, holding gently in her hands the giant sword. It gleamed in the sunlight, the blade as perfectly sharp as a falcon's talons, and a sense of awe slowly settled on her soul.

"I don't know what to say." Nariko stammered, picking up the sword. "How do I use it?"

"That is the challenge. Now go." He looked at her one more time, golden eyes afire, and then turned and ascended the stairs to where Rin was standing, watching with a smile on her face.

Nariko finally turned and finished descending the stone steps, and as she crossed the plain, she slid the sword into place under her obi, and vowed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars across the sky that she would make her father proud. She would learn to use this sword.

* * *

When I woke up, it was late at night, before the sun had even risen. There wasn't a moon tonight either – just the great, black expanse of the night. I turned over and saw that everyone was still sleeping. Shippou was with Kagome, Kirara was with my parents, and Inuyasha was – 

"What are you still doing awake?"

I sat up, brushing my hair off my face, and saw him come out of the forest.

"I could ask you the same question."

Inuyasha raised his arms, and I could see a sleeping Kaida. "She was having a bad dream or something." He said softly, sitting down. "I didn't want Kagome to wake up, so I took her."

Inuyasha's hair was black tonight; it was the moonless night, and he was a human. I'd gotten used to his transformations from traveling with him last year, but today it kind of really hit me when I saw how similar he really looked to Kaida.

He shifted positions, gently playing with Kaida's little ears, a crazy sweet grin on his face. She yawned and stretched, showing one tiny little fang. I pulled my knees into my chest and said,

"Hey, Inu."

"Yo."

"Do you have any relatives?"

"Why do you want to know?" He said, giving me a suspicious glance. "You're not gonna try and blackmail me or anything, right?"

"I have enough blackmail on you as it is. I just wanna know."

Inuyasha eyed me again and then said slowly, "Well you know I'm a hanyou. So my father was a demon and my mother was a human. Of course I wasn't exactly what you'd call popular as a kid, so if I had any relatives on my mom's side, I didn't really know. The only relatives I know I had were my father and my brother Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru? Never heard of him."

"He's the dog demon of the West, I don't expect you would know. He's a full demon. We never really got along, since I got this baby – " Inuyasha patted Tetsusaiga, "and Sesshoumaru was left with a wimpy ass sword."

"Did Sesshoumaru have any kids?" I said on a sudden whim.

"Sesshoumaru? Have a kid?" Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah. Like he'd ever have a kid. He's probably never gotten laid in his life."

"Yeah…" I said absentmindedly, still remembering the dream.

"Why do you care who I'm related to? It's not like Sesshoumaru's somebody important or anything," he said, all snotty-like, like he was somebody super important.

"Just wondering."

"Yeah, well, sometimes your wondering scares me, Kaza." Inuyasha grinned.

"Your face still scares me, so we're even." I shot back.

"Oh, just piss off."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're gonna be traveling with me until we can cure my wind tunnel."

"Or you die."

"I'm going to bed." I declared, laying back down. "Good night, Kaida. Good night, puppy."

"Good night, bitch." He spat, putting Kaida to bed in her makeshift crib.

And that night's dream was about two swords, intertwined, and then merging to form one.

* * *

**Hi everyone. Ok - so I know it seems like a random chapter. But there is an actual reason why the story is called Wind, Thunder and Flowers - OMG - and of course Kaza is the wind part (because her name is derived from the Japanese kanji 'kaze' which means wind, for those of you who don't know). And Nariko is the thunder part, because 'Nariko' is a girl's name meaning thunder. So - Sesshoumaru had a kid, huh? Kind of crazy, and yet disturbingly satisfying to write this chapter. I thought it was fun. And I love the song 'Thunder Rolls' so of course that's the title!! (not Dani California this time lol) Anyway, please review, I appreciate every one! Arigatou! - PVB**


	5. Challenge: Bear vs Dog

Chapter 5 – Challenge: Bear vs. Dog

"What can you tell me about the Daughter of the Wind?"

Demon eyes locked onto Nariko. The room was still as a grave. Nariko had to clasp her hands to stop them from shaking. Obviously that wasn't the right question to ask in a smoky, crowded demon bar.

"Where'd you hear about her?" One demon asked gruffly.

"Rumor."

"And that's where it should stay."

"Why?"

"Why the hell should you care, girl?" Nariko nearly jumped when the piercing white eyes of a ghost demon shifted over to her. She steeled her resolve and forced herself to stare back even when her nerves started to rattle.

"I've heard too much about her to get it out of my mind."

They were starting to give her strange looks. She knew she had to be careful. Usually demons could sense hanyous from the start, but she looked so remarkably like her father that she was willing to risk it. And it was true – she'd been traveling for about a week now, and everywhere there seemed to be rumors about this fabled 'Daughter of the Wind.'

"They say she's on the move." She said, eyes scanning the room for someone to answer her. "Come on, I know you know who she is."

"She's not real." Someone grunted. It was a bear demon with long brown hair and huge tanned muscles, sitting with his arms crossed.

"How do you know?" Nariko was desperate for answers.

He laughed shortly, eyes never leaving Nariko's. "Because according to rumor, she killed Naraku."

That wasn't what she was expecting to hear.

"I heard Naraku died from some freak nature accident."

"That's just the thing. When he vanished, I heard that too. But apparently this girl can control nature. She's the one who killed him."

"What's so impossible about that?"

"Rumor also says she's a human girl. Still in her teens. Daughter of a monk and the last remaining Taijiya in all of Japan."

Nariko sucked in her breath sharply. Okay, now she knew it wasn't true. Naraku was the one demon everyone wanted to kill, and yet no one could do it. Everyone that had gone out to exterminate him came back dead or traumatized. It just wasn't done. Especially not by some human girl.

"I didn't even think there were any Taijiyas left." Someone else chimed in.

"Nah, there are still two out there. Don't matter. They went out of commission a long time ago."

"What worries me is the monk. I thought I heard, a long time ago, about some line of monks who were cursed to have some tunnel or something in their hand, and they all died. How could one of them lived to have a kid?"

"It was probably illegit. You know all them monks – damn perverts to the last."

"All he had to find was a girl who was willing and bam! Instant heir!"

As demons roared with raucous laughter, Nariko was looking around for escape exits. Apparently the rumors weren't true, and there was no need to stick around in this hellhole of drunk demons.

After another couple minutes, though, a new voice came out, strong and solid – "She's real."

Nariko froze on her tracks to the door as the whole room swiveled.

In a dark corner, lit by a couple flickering candles, was another bear demon. Black hair was pulled back away from his gaunt face, and black-gray bags of insomnia hung under his equally black eyes. He had a bottle of some heavy liquor in front of him and looked utterly wasted.

"Just shut up, Hiroshi. You're drunk." The other demon called back, disgusted.

"I'm not drunk." He said, in the same deadpan voice. "The Daughter of the Wind is real. And I'm going to kill her."

"Why?" Nariko barked. He slid his eyes over to her, drinking in the sight of her.

"Why, girl?" He responded, a rogue smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. A glinting fang shone for a second. "Cause that human bitch killed my father. In his last moments, Naraku possessed the nearest demon with any power, who happened to be my father. Using my father's body, he kidnapped her, held her captive, and then was stupid enough to let one of the Taijiyas help her out. She came out and blasted him to hell with those little winds of hers. Blasting my father with him, without even knowing."

His laugh was short and dry. "Oh, I know she's real alright. She's some illegitimate human wench with only minimal training as a Taijiya and a power over the wind she can't control. There's nothing special about the Daughter of the Wind. She killed Naraku out of pure luck. There's no real power behind her little façade. Let her do what she wants. She's been in the dark ever since Naraku kicked the bucket, and if she is on the move again for whatever reason, more power to her. Just means she's an easier target."

"She may be more of a challenge than you expect, Hiroshi." The other demon warned. "She killed Naraku. There's gotta be some sort of power."

Hiroshi downed a swig of the fiery drink, gave a sigh, and said, "Oh, come on. The only humans that have ever proved a threat to us are priestesses and the occasional Taijiya or monk who got good enough to fight. And most of them don't even bother anymore since the jewel's off the charts. She's probably got fat and happy in her little rural life and doesn't even know how to fight anymore. Watch me. I'll blast her pretty little human ass right back to the pits of hell where she came from."

Nariko felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick, and her wiry muscles tense. This guy was looking for a fight. She could see it in the way his black eyes roved over the room hungrily, always settling on her.

"Humans aren't always defenseless." She shot back. "My mother once knew a priestess who could kill a fully grown demon with one good shot. And apparently Taijiyas are expertly trained."

"How the hell would you know?" He laughed again. "They were all dead before you were even born."

"I would know my fair share about Taijiyas."

Suddenly the moon shone through the only window, casting silver light over her white hair, which she'd kept pulled back and tied up the whole time. It lit up the whole room, sharply contrasting against her bright amber eyes. Finally the demons got a good look at her, and whispers started to circulate like wildfire.

"White hair."

"That's a dog demon sign."

"No shit, Sherlock, look at the ears. She's a pure blood."

"No she's not. Where's her markings? If she was a pure blood, she's have the marks on her face."

"And anyway, there's only one pure dog demon left, and that's – "

As the whisperings escalated, the first bear demon stood up and stared hard at her. "There's only one pure dog demon left, and that's Lord Sesshoumaru. Then you've got to be his daughter!" He accused. "Some bastard of a daughter, though, I can tell you're not a full demon."

"I'm a hanyou, you ass." She snapped, hand flying to the hilt of her sword. "Whatchagonna do about it?"

"Easy there, little girl. You wouldn't want to get hurt." Hiroshi taunted.

"I could beat your ass into the ground right here, right now, if only you'd sober up enough to fight me." Nariko shot back, slowly grinning as he recognized the insult. _Shutdown! _

For a second it looked as if Hiroshi was going to set down his drink and come after her, but he relaxed and set it down with a laugh. "Not worth my time. Anyway, even a hanyou could probably beat me right now. When you find the Daughter of the Wind, tell me."

"What makes you think I'm gonna go looking for some human girl I know nothing about?"

"Because, you insolent little brat," he drawled, "I knew your father. You stubborn dogs just hold on and don't let go. You're gonna go find her, I know your type. When you do, drop me a line. It'll make it so much easier for me to kill her."

Nariko slid her sword back into its sheath and gave him a traditional dog demon grin, bright fangs glinting in the moonlight. "When I find her, you selfish, flea-infested, rogue little bastard of a demon if I've ever seen one, I sure as hell won't tell you just so you can satisfy your twisted motives of revenge. I hope you all burn in the deepest pits of hell."

She finished with a lilting smile, and slammed the door behind her as she walked out.

_Damn, that felt good. _Nariko thought to herself, as she heard the sound of the bar going to hell right as she left. _Stupid bear demon read me like a book anyway. I guess now I'm going to find this Daughter of the Wind chic. What would Father say?_

_Feh, _she thought with a shrug. _Like he knows anything about humans. She's probably not real anyway. That guy was totally wasted. No sanity left, even if there was any to start with._

_But he did give me a new mission.

* * *

_

**Hey, ya'll. God, it took me forever to get this up, huh? And yes, i admit it - this is completely, utterly and totally a filler chapter. So sue me if i have absolutely no idea what Kaza and Co. should be doing right now. and Nariko's just so much fun to play with. Don't you love all them dog demons? They keep things interesting. And the title's lame, I know - but whatever. More OCs introduced next chapter...if i ever get it up that is...anyway, thanks for all the amazing reviews! It really makes me feel like I can actually write :). Okay, see ya'll next chapter - PVB**


	6. An Old Friend

Chapter 6 – An Old Friend

Okay. So traveling again wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

We'd only been on the road for a week – that was nothing compared to the three months we'd spent on the road last year. But you know, when you're traveling with a very grumpy hanyou, a silent monk, a priestess who's majorly PMSing, one very very very annoying little fox demon, a six-month-old who manages to make us stop every five minutes, and your mom, who's being seriously overprotective ever since she learned that her daughter and husband were fated to die in a year, one week can be a very long time. In fact, the only normal one was Kirara. When have we seen this situation before?

"Kagome," Inuyasha said through clenched teeth, "I know Kaida's six months old, but can we please attempt to walk for ten minutes without stopping?"

"Hey, she can't take her naps when she's out here. What do you expect I do?" Kagome grunted, attempting to comfort a bawling Kaida.

My dad sighed and grumbled something about having to find a decent hotel for the night. I couldn't agree more – sleeping on the ground was about as fun as setting your ass on fire.

Eventually Inuyasha couldn't stand it, stomped over to Kagome and grabbed the baby. Giving Kaida a deathglare he usually reserved for me, he placed her over his shoulder and continued walking. She screamed at first, but then realized that that wasn't getting her anywhere, and contented herself with staring into space over her daddy's shoulder, big brown eyes wide with amazement as she stared at everything.

"So, Miroku," Inuyasha shouted behind him, "what was that about a hotel?"

"Um, aside from the fact that we need one?" I interjected.

"Is your name Miroku?" He replied.

"I think there's a village coming up ahead that we could stop at." My dad said, ignoring both of us. "I've been to it a couple of times. We should be able to find a place to stay there. Or at least, everyone there is rich, we could pull some sob story and make them take us in."

"Not that's what I'm talking about." The hanyou grunted. Beside me, my mother smiled. It was the first time I'd seen her smile all day. She'd been so depressed lately. Normally, I didn't believe in the mushy crap, but today I edged myself over to her and squeezed her hand. She glanced up at me, surprised, and then smiled more fervently.

Kagome was totally going off on the whole idea. "We could use Kaida…someone will make her cry, and then we can come up and be all like 'We're poor traveling Taijiyas and the baby's got a chronic illness and is going to die so can we, like, have a room and some food?'"

Kagome's true valley girl nature really shone when she was hungry. I grinned and said,

"So you're such a bad mother that you'll make your daughter cry to get some food?"

"Hey, it's for the common good." Kagome said defensively. "If we don't have food then we'll all die. And anyway, if I don't have nourishment then I can't breast-feed. So she doesn't know it, but she'd be doing herself a favor."

"Uh-huh, yeah." Inuyasha said, picking up the baby and nuzzling his nose against hers. "So, Kaida, you firmly convinced your mama's crazy yet? Huh?"

Kaida giggled and grabbed Inuyasha's ears. "Puppy! Puppy!"

Shippou burst out laughing at the sour expression on Inuyasha's face. "Oh, sure." He grunted, prying her fat fingers off his ears. "Just wait till you're old enough to understand what I'm saying, then I'm gonna rag on you till the day you die, my little _puppy_ girl."

Kagome started to launch into a speech about not abusing the baby, but suddenly I was way beyond listening. Our little group had stopped short on the road. A lone figure had suddenly stepped out of the forest, looking as surprised to see us as we were to see him.

My mom pushed forward, eyes huge, her hands trembling. He looked back at her with eyes equally as wide.

"Kohaku?" She whispered.

Finally realization settled on his suntanned face. He smiled gently at us.

"It's been a long time, ane-ue." He said.

* * *

"She looks just like you, Kagome." Kohaku said, tickling Kaida's stomach. The baby's laughter was the only sound in the clearing, though. Every one was silent and sober. The reappearance of my uncle, my mom's brother, was pretty weird. And Inuyasha was still at odds with him. As much as I had gotten Kagome to tell me, a lot of stuff had happened with Kohaku before I was born, stuff that would set Inuyasha on edge. And that hanyou could bear a grudge forever. My mom, as if she wasn't emotional enough, was hovering between supremely excited and cautious. In the end she settled on a reserved happiness. My mom could reel in her emotions like no one else.

Eventually we told him why we were traveling all of a sudden. I think he had a vague idea when he first saw that my dad had the Kazaana again – his eyebrows raised really creepily – but when he heard about the new demon, he shook his head and sighed.

"I can't believe it. Is this another Naraku? And just when we got rid of the old one."

"No kidding." Kagome said softly. "I mean, it's just…"

"It's supernatural, that's what it is." Miroku said. "It shouldn't be happening. Normally there's an explanation for everything in this world. But with this, this new phenomenon, with the Kazaana returning, I don't understand. I only know this – someone really wants us."

He didn't say it, and for that I thanked him. But everyone knew it. I fiddled with my rosary beads as blood rose to my face. I couldn't look at anyone.

This whole thing was my fault. I knew it. Everyone knew it. They didn't want us. They – whoever they were – all they wanted was me. The Daughter of the Wind, the one who killed Naraku.

Oh, God, if only I could take it all back now. If only I could go back to the way I was. Maybe if I hadn't gone on that crazy journey to find my dad we could all stay as we were. Sure, I never would have found my father if I hadn't gone…but what was the point, now that we'd found him, if he just had the Kazaana again and was going to be taken away again? Just because I had so much damn power I couldn't control it.

Everyone noticed how quiet I'd gotten. Before I went to bed, my father grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Inuyasha and Kagome smiled at me, and Shippou came up to me with baby Kaida, and she gave me a sticky kiss. I could almost laugh as I kissed her back and gave Shippou a hug. I think he understood how much I appreciated it. Shippou had matured a lot in this past year.

When I went to bed it was about an hour after sunset, and my mom and Kohaku were quietly talking under the sweeping branches of a tree. She got up and kissed me, and Kohaku said softly, "It's nice to see you again, Kaza."

I curled up under my sleeping bag, and was just falling asleep when I felt a furry snout in my face. Kirara was sitting in front of me, looking at me with her big crimson eyes. She mewed quietly and snuggled under the covers with me, her warm little body pressed right against my heart. I almost cried when I felt her next to me. Everyone was just so nice to me, even when it was my fault we were here, in the middle of nowhere, with an impossible deadline and half the demons of Japan on our tail. They were still so nice to me.

What in hell had I done to deserve this?

* * *

**Okay, i swear this wasn't a filler chapter. There is a point to this. But anyway, even if you're all planning to egg my house because I give you this mushy shit for a chapter, that's fine. Don't hurt the turtles. And at least now we know that Kaza has emotions.**

**Anyway, happy new year's! As your Christmas/New Year's present to me, please review, even if it's just to give me deaththreats. I can handle those. And i promise the main story arc starts next chapter. Seriously. Trust Pegelia, she's not as stupid as she seems. Anyway, ttyl! -PVB**

**P.S. Thanks for the idea Cati!**


	7. Flowers and Fire

Chapter Seven – Flowers and Fire

"AKINA!"

No answer.

Kouga dragged a hand through his thick hair and gritted his teeth in frustration. No sign of her. Why the hell had he had a third child? Akina caused more trouble for him then his two sons and his wife combined, and that was saying something.

"Kouga? Have you found her?" Ayame walked out onto the porch, green eyes locking immediately onto Kouga. He knew she'd been out searching for Akina because she was wearing her old miniskirt and amour-plated shirt. It wasn't exactly something the Queen of the Wolves would wear in public, so Ayame only wore it when she had something urgent to do.

"If I found her, why would I still be standing here?"

"Never mind." Ayame sighed and fiddled with her thick red hair. "I'm gonna go ask if she's in the kitchen. Maybe you should ask the boys."

"Yeah." With his traditional gruff answer, Kouga turned tail and started to run down to the battlegrounds. His castle was set deep into the forests, right at the foothills of the mountains – right between his and Ayame's old kingdoms – and there was a space cleared away where they could fight. Ever since he'd usurped the old ruler of the wolf demons there wasn't exactly much to do. He almost wished the old mutt-face would come back so there'd be something to do aside from chase his daughter around the countryside.

Kouga found his two sons right where he knew they'd be. Fighting, as usual. They were both excellent swordsman, and they were sparring, taunting and jeering each other as usual.

"Kanaye! Raidon!" They snapped to attention, sheathing their swords in a hiss of metal and turning to face him.

"Father?"

"Have you guys seen Akina?" Kouga said, getting right to the point.

"When do we ever see Akina?" Raidon said, eyeing his brother with a gleam in his eyes. Kouga's sons had inherited nearly all of his traits – long brown hair, dark skin, dark eyes, except that Kanaye, the oldest, had his mother's blue eyes. He couldn't help but smile at their humor. It was true, his daughter was usually so busy doing other things they rarely ever saw her.

"Yeah, well all joking aside, your mother needs her for something. And she's been gone for a couple of days now, so we need her back."

"Chill out, Father." Kanaye said easily. "She always comes back."

Kouga clenched his teeth. "Not soon enough. Go find her."

"Why? She could be anywhere!"

"I don't care. She needs to stop doing this." Sighing, Kanaye and Raidon nodded to Kouga and ran off into the surrounding woods, splitting up to find their sister. Kouga shook his head in annoyance. Damn Akina. Why was she so flighty like this? It got so damn annoying after a while. She'd gone missing for a week before, had the entire mansion up in arms about her. It was like she didn't even care about how much worry she caused everyone else.

_Oh wait, _Kouga thought, annoyed, _of course she doesn't care._

He sprinted off into the woods opposite of his sons.

All the while, a young wolf demon sat perched at the top of a tall oak, wryly observing everything below her.

"Oh, come on, Dad." She said to herself. "I always come back. Why the hell would Mom want me anyway? It's not like I exactly do anything around the castle."

Akina glanced down, rummaging through her tiny pack for a ribbon, with which she tied back all her thick, untamable red hair. She hung her legs over the branch of the tree, letting the miniskirt ride up her legs even more, showing off her thighs. Her dad would kill her if he saw her like this. She wasn't exactly sure why. Her mom wandered around in a miniskirt all the time.

It was almost an hour later when Kanaye finally found her. For some reason, Akina could stare into space for hours at a time, her mind wandering around the world, away from her sheltered life as the wolf demon princess. Definitely away from her mother, her father – and her demanding older brothers.

"Akina!"

She glanced down. It was Kanaye.

"Hey. What's up?"

"You are in so much trouble." He smirked at her. "Father practically had a cow."

"Fine by me. He's had something sideways up his butt forever anyway." She lightly jumped down, pulling the skirt down and fluffing her hair.

"So why'd you run away again?"

"Um…because I felt like it?" Akina grinned at him. Kanaye rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Akina, I think you're really in trouble this time. Father was really mad this time. He says you shouldn't be so flighty."

"What does he expect, he can keep me on a leash my whole life like some tame little puppy?" She looked up at her brother. "So are you taking me back?"

"Yeah. Raidon's out looking for you on the borders right now. I think Father's at home consoling Mother."

"Why do they care so much?" She asked, walking back towards the castle. "I always come back."

"Why does Mom have issues with Dad looking at other women? It just happens."

"That was a really crappy explanation. Like, I'm their only daughter, the youngest one, their pride and joy. They should love me and give me free reign, right?"

"Like, not when it involves you running away to go party in other wolves' realms."

"That was only once." Akina said nonchalantly.

"Tell it to Mom and Dad." Kanaye cocked an eyebrow as his sister sighed.

"Well, it'll keep the evening exciting."

* * *

Kohaku tagged along with us when we set off the next day. I can't say what everyone felt about this. Kagome, Dad and I were indifferent. Mom was ecstatic, and Inuyasha was pissy. Then again, when he's not eating ramen, kissing Kagome, or kicking demon ass, Inuyasha is rarely happy.

At least Kohaku took Kaida for the morning, so it was all good. He and Miroku got into some in-depth convo about the merits of sacred sutra versus conventional demon killing. After a grand total of two and a half minutes, my mom and Inuyasha jumped in on the side of conventional demon killing, and Kagome backed up my dad, being the whole priestess thing. It was quite entertaining.

"With sacred sutra, you don't harm the environment as much." My dad said.

"But you don't get to kick demon ass as hard!" Inuyasha said.

"Life is not all about seeing how many demons you can kill."

"Uh, yeah it is."

"It is much more fun." My mom put in.

"But with sacred sutra, it's easier." Kagome pointed out.

"I'm a Taijiya. My job is conventional demon killing. I think people still hire us just because they like to see demon's hearts cut out." Kohaku said, lifting Kaida into the air and making her squeal.

"Heads chopped off." Sango grinned. "My specialty."

"Innards splashed over the ground." Inuyasha looked like he was going into ecstatic convulsions just thinking about it.

My father rolled his eyes. "Barbarians."

"Demons!" I shrieked.

"No, Kaza, we kill demons." Inuyasha said. "I'm a half-demon, remember?"

"No, you dumbass, DEMONS!" I screamed, drawing out my sword.

It was true. A whole pack of various demons was advancing through the forest. Kohaku handed the baby to Kirara, who flew into the air. My mother sent me a glance and we sprinted off into the trees to change while the rest of the group headed off the demons.

When we ran out, back in black and ready to chop off some heads, it didn't look good. There were too many demons, too soon. My father was using the Kazaana like a man possessed, but they just kept coming.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Inuyasha roared, drawing Tetsusaiga.

"Don't ask me! Hiraikotsu!" Sango launched the boomerang into the air in a perfect arc, but it didn't do any good. As soon as she killed ten demons, ten more came forward, teeth drawn.

Kagome shot an arrow into the heart of them, and while it had done more good than anything before, it didn't cut it. They came – and now they advanced from behind us. I was starting to get panicked, and my sword wasn't doing the job now.

Miroku ran over, staff twirling, and stood back-to-back with me.

"Can we do it?" I panted, grabbing my beads.

"Worth a shot." He grunted, and then simultaneously, we whipped off our beads and screeched, "KAZAANA!"

Kohaku ducked out of the way just in time before the winds started to suck in the demons. Bracing myself against my father, I held the tunnel open and let the demons fly in by the hundreds. It was my first mass extermination of demons.

After a couple of minutes the forest was cleared. I lowered my hand and sighed. My father turned to me with a grin.

A roar pervaded my thoughts. I screamed as a thousand demons came streaming from above. Kirara tried to fly away, but immediately they chased her too. I could vaguely see the baby on her back.

"KAIDA!" Kagome screamed desperately. Inuyasha launched himself into the air immediately as Hiraikotsu came swerving from the side. When he touched back down again, he was holding the baby, and handed a bawling Kaida to her mother before drawing the Tetsusaiga and roaring, "Everyone, move! BACKLASH WAVE!"

Inuyasha's signature move. I'd never seen it, but damn, it worked. You could actually see the demonic aura, a palpable, sickly green wave, thrown back by Inuyasha's own bright blue wave. They were instantly extinguished – but even then, only a couple of minutes later, they all came pouring forth again from behind every tree, an angry tumult that would never end.

Kohaku ran forward with his sickle and defended me against a new slew of demons. "Where are they coming from?" I bellowed.

"I don't know!" He panted. "But it's going to take forever to get them at this point!"

I drew my own sword and started to cut and slice as demon blood splashed onto my suit. But after another quarter of an hour, three Wind Scars, four sacred arrows, six Hiraikotsus and two attempts with the Kazaana, it seemed the demons would never end. I was tiring – my chest rose and fell sharply with each hard breath. Inuyasha was the only one whose energy seemed never ending – even my mother was tired.

When there was a lull in the demon activity, Kagome rushed up to me, Kaida in one hand, an arrow in the other that she was using to hold off the demons. When she got to me, she plunked the baby in my hand and immediately whipped out a bow. That girl sure was fast with her bow, and soon all the demons around us were gone.

"Kaza," she whispered, "you have to take Kaida and get out of here. It's too dangerous for you two."

"For Kaida, yes, but I'm a demon slayer, Kagome. I can handle it."

"Yeah, but we can't spare anyone else, Kaza. We need everyone we can get, and Kirara's too easily pursued. You two can make a quick exit."

"Why do I always have to go?" I moaned. Demons were closing in again.

"Kaza, there's no time!" She pleaded. "Please, just take Kaida. We need you to take care of her. Just find us again by the end of the day, okay? Please?"

Her brown eyes were huge and locked onto me. I remembered seeing her pregnant, and how heartbroken she would be if baby Kaida, her only child, was killed by demons. It would kill her. I didn't even want to think about Inuyasha's reaction.

I nodded affirmatively and hefted her up, sheathing my sword. "I'll be back at sunset."

"Thank you." She whispered, dropping a quick kiss on her daughter's head before turning and fitting an arrow on the string. "Hurry!"

Steeling my resolve, I turned and sprinted off into the forest.

Demons were everywhere. Everywhere I turned, anywhere I set my eyes on, there they were, swarming, ugly, fangs baring in my throat. Kaida was screaming, little hands set into fists, and I pressed her to my body as I crashed through the demons. They formed a solid wall before me, impassable, until finally I stood my ground and pulled off the beads.

"Kazaana!"

The wind sucked in just enough for me to take a clear shot right through them and into the forest. I sprinted, I turned left and right, I didn't care, wherever there were no demons, that was where I ran. Until, of course, they closed in again. All I wanted was to get through.

But then a cat demon suddenly appeared before me. Kirara. She bared her fangs and cleared a path for us, running before me and Kaida, parting the demons. I had never loved her so much.

The demons never completely vanished, but after I'd been running long enough they finally started to thin out. They weren't the impenetratable path they'd been before, and eventually Kirara slowed down when we reached a small cave, in a clearing that only had one or two demons. I killed them quickly, and finally Kaida stopped screaming and opened her eyes. I soothed her, rocking and kissing her little hands, and thanked Kirara profusely. She transformed back into her little kitty form and mewed.

Pulling twigs out of my hair, I sat down on a rock and bounced the baby on my knee while I looked up.

That's when I realized it was sunset. And the stars were wrong. They were different than they had been back where we'd slept last night. Way different.

I stood up and looked around me. Nothing looked familiar. No landmark. No distinctive features to tell me where I was.

After a minute it set in. I laid down on the ground. Kirara came up to me, cocking her head cutely, and I just buried my face in her fur and cried.

I had absolutely no idea where I was.

* * *

**This is one of those random incidents where I watch a whole ton of AMVs in a row and decide to write. Random, but good. Aha! See! Pegelia does keep her promises! This is where the main story arc happens. And Kohaku's still there, which i think will shake it up from time to time, considering in most fanfics he's not a constant character. But i didn't want to kill him off, so anyway...i'll update soon, considering as I want to see what happens too! **

**Ps. If Kaza is wind and Nariko is thunder, what is Akina? Come on, this is the prize-winning question on Who Wants to be Millionaire?? lol. Sayonara!**


	8. Flirt with Hell

Chapter Eight – Flirt with Hell

"Why the hell does this always happen to me?"

I was sitting on Kirara. This high up in the air, at least Kaida was more interested with seeing everything below her turn into ants than crying. Her eyes were huge as she surveyed everything. I put her in my lap and looked down below as Kirara flew over the forest.

"Goddamn it." I grunted. "They couldn't have disappeared in one night. It just doesn't happen like that."

It became apparent after almost an hour that there was just no way we could find them. The trees were too close together to get any glimpses of them. And when we went back to the place where I last remember being with the group, there was nothing. At first I was optimistic. But after hours, when the trees were a solid, impassable fortress, blocking me seeing my parents and friends again, I finally realized that I was lost. Again.

I tried holding back the tears, but to no avail. I was bawling when we touched the ground again. Kaida was staring up at me, and Kirara shrunk back down and cuddled up to me with an inquisitive mew. I could barely even see her through my own tears.

"GODDAMN IT!" I screeched, hands balling up. "What the hell is going on here?! Where are they? Where am I? IS ANYONE LISTENING? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME??"

I sank to the ground and sobbed some more, clutching the baby to my chest. By some miracle, she didn't cry, but stayed silent, little head pressed to my breast. Kirara, as always, offered all the support she could, rubbing my neck and purring like the sweetheart she is. But this time it wasn't enough. I really needed some human support now. I would've died to see my mom, my dad, Kagome, Kohaku, Shippou…even Inuyasha right now. My sorrow was so heavy, it was almost palpable, like someone had injected rocks into my limbs. I didn't even want to move. I don't know how long I sat there, blinded by tears, as unmoving as a corpse.

It was Kaida's quiet crying that finally woke me up. I blinked the tears back and glanced down at her. Her crying increased in fervor. I finally realized – she was hungry.

"Friggin' peachy." I grunted, sitting up and brushing tears out of my eyes. I had absolutely no food. In fact, I had nothing. I'd left the campsite wearing only my Taijiya outfit and a sword. No survival tools whatsoever.

"Okay, cutie," I said, standing up and hefting her up too. "Let's go find some food."

Kirara mewed and came over, but I shook my head and said, "Naw, thanks, though. I can walk. You can ride on my shoulder if you want, though."

We wandered into the forest.

The silence got really annoying after a little while. Pretty soon I started humming and mumbling to myself, just to stop from going absolutely insane. At least Kaida grumbled and muttered at my ear, so I kept myself occupied by playing with her and tickling her. Kirara walked at my side, always alert. We really weren't sure what we were looking for, but any food would be good.

We spent the night there, and then the next day woke up and set off again. By now, Kaida was really getting hungry, and started crying even harder. My own stomach was grumbling, but I tried to soothe her. At some point I almost wished I could breast feed just to keep her quiet. Kirara was licking her lips in anticipation, and I searched even more desperately for any signs of running water, a moving animal, something that would provide nourishment.

I was starting to get nauseous with hunger when there was a snapping twig off on my right.

I immediately put my hand over Kaida's mouth and crouched behind a bush, silently unsheathing my sword. Kirara bared her fangs, and Kaida was scared into silence. I placed her comfortably on the ground so she didn't die or anything, as the snapping melded into footsteps coming closer and closer. My breathing was so loud I thought it was audible. My muscles were taut.

Finally, when a young girl stepped into the clearing, I leapt out of the bush, leveling my sword at her throat. In an instant, though, she drew her own sword and held it at my own throat.

Just friggin' perfect.

Well, she wasn't food, unless I decided to turn cannibal. And I seriously didn't want to have to kill a girl. She didn't look much younger than me, anyway.

But when I finally looked into her stubborn face, I realized that she looked exactly like a female version of Inuyasha.

Long, silky white hair tumbling down her back. Bright amber eyes staring pugnaciously into my face. Tiny claws at the tips of her fingernails. Little dog ears sticking out of the top of her head.

_Oh, my God. Inuyasha didn't have a kid and didn't tell us? Kagome's gonna kick his ass._

We must've stayed there for at least a couple of minutes, swords aimed at each other, as she just glared evilly at me, and me at her. She didn't seem to want to make a move, just stare at me. I saw that she had a cute blue kimono that seemed made out of rich materials. But she couldn't hide the boots sticking out from under the hem, and that she had another, much bigger sword resting at her hip. I also saw another little sheath at her pack, which would obviously contain a dagger. This chick was loaded.

But then a thin crying came from behind the bush. I bit my lip. The girl raised an eyebrow at me. Kaida's crying got louder.

Finally I lowered my sword with a sigh. "Don't move."

"I won't." She grunted, plunging her sword into the dirt and crossing her arms, international sign for truce. I stuck my own sword down and then ran over to the bush, picking up the baby and shushing her cries. Kirara leapt up and clung to the back of my Taijiya suit so the girl couldn't see her.

I balanced Kaida on my hip and came over to stare at the girl again. She had her arms akimbo and was now looking mildly annoyed.

"Is she your kid?" She asked.

I resisted the urge to puke. "Do I look like her mom?" I snarled.

"Um, yeah."

I glanced down. Dark hair. Bright eyes. I guess we did look kind of alike, except for the ears. But as I surveyed Kaida, the other girl finally caught sight of her ears, and her eyes widened.

"She's a demon!" She gasped.

"And you're not?"

"That's not what I said. She just doesn't look like a dog demon."

"Really, I never knew."

"You're really annoying, you know." The girl moved to pick up her sword. I beat her to it and seized my sword, holding it up. She looked taken aback.

I grinned cockily. "Don't even try it."

"And I'm supposed to think that you can take me while holding a baby?" She smiled back, showing a tiny fang.

"Any time, any day, sugar."

"You don't stand a chance. I'm a demon, remember?"

I saw her weakness right away. She was too cocky – and plus she thought I was a normal girl. Oh, she was in for it.

"Look, I'm sorry to give you a reality check, hun, but I'm a Taijiya. You see the outfit?" I said, gesturing to my leather ensemble. "I'm trained just to handle demons."

"And you seriously think you can handle me? You are way too overconfident." She motioned to the large sword at her hip. "I know how to use this thing. But you really don't want to see it."

Now she was seriously starting to tick me off. Stupid, overconfident teenagers. I reached back and flicked Kirara's tail, and heard the little cat demon start to growl.

"You know what? I think you underestimate your enemies." I started to pace around her, sword still held out. Her face was expressionless.

"For one thing," I snapped, "don't lie without knowing who you're up against. I know you're not a full demon, bitch, so don't even play that card anymore."

Her eyes widened and she moved forward, but I pushed forward and shoved my sword against her throat. "If you were a full dog demon, for one thing, you'd be much taller." I said softly. "You would have the markings on your cheeks, your arms, and your forehead. You wouldn't have those dog ears, you would have elf ears. And real dog demons don't have a cute little pug nose, it's much sharper." I grinned at the startled expression on her face. "Come on, hun, I'm a Taijiya. You think I was trained for nothing?"

I saw her hand move subtly to the hilt of her sword. But that was when I played my own trump card. "Plus, if you were a full demon, _she _would have attacked much quicker." At that moment, Kirara appeared on my shoulder, spitting fire and looking menacing for such a little kitty. I grinned smugly. "Sic her, Kirara."

She transformed in a blast of fire and lunged forward. The demon girl dropped to the ground and grabbed her sword. Kirara disarmed her and pushed her before she could do anything. She grunted and struggled, but finally was quiet when I appeared over her.

"Alright, damn it, you win!" She spit. "I'm a hanyou. So what? Now can you get your crazy ass cat off me?!"

Kaida started crying again. I kissed her and rocked her, but she kept crying. I suddenly felt very tired, and gestured at Kirara to get off her.

"You can go. It's okay. But, hey. Like, do you know where there's a stream or anything around her for some food? The baby's hungry."

She glared at me for a second before answering, "There's a stream a couple miles that way. But good luck finding any fish there. It's pretty barren."

I groaned. "Shit. Well, it's a start. Thanks."

I pushed Kaida up to my shoulder, ruffled behind Kirara's ears, and then turned and walked off in the direction she provided. I was all ready to put her in the back of my mind when suddenly she called,

"Yo. Taijiya."

I turned.

Her sharp amber eyes were staring right at me, face expressionless. For a moment we just stared at each other, eyes locked, but then she finally reached down into her pack and pulled out a huge fish.

Without saying another word, she tossed it to me. I nearly dropped it, my hands were shaking so bad.

"Oh my God." I whispered. "Like, thanks."

She nodded and then sat down on a rock to watch me. Immediately I sat down too, pulled out my sword, and started to slice off the skin. The insides were raw and disgusting, but it would work. Kaida was being such a good girl, just watching me with big eyes. Finally I pulled out a piece small enough for her, and mashed it up in my hands while saying,

"Sweetie, I know you're not really old enough for solid food, but it's all I got, okay? We'll get you back to your mommy, okay?"

"Okay Kaz." She mumbled, before smiling as I handed her the fish. She nearly puked it out the first time, but by the third time she was eating. Meanwhile, Kirara had walked up to me, her scarlet eyes pleading.

"Oh, hun, I'm sorry, I almost forgot about you." I pulled off a strip and handed it her. "You deserve it. Good work, Kirara."

Slowly, very slowly, I fed Kaida and Kirara. It was enough for them, and pretty soon Kirara had curled up to go to bed. Kaida yawned and rubbed her eyes, and finally I laid her down on Kirara's warm hide. She was asleep soon.

Now they were out of the way. Time for this mystery girl.

But as I sat down on a rock close to hers, my stomach growled obviously. Her lip twitched in what could have been a smile.

"You fed them before you fed yourself."

"Of course. I would kill myself if anything happened to them." I responded.

"So if you're not her mother, where is she?"

"We got separated. My group was ambushed by demons. I had to take the baby and run to save both of us. Kirara just followed to protect me."

"You're a Taijiya. Why did you run?" She pulled a ribbon out of her backpack and pulled her mane of hair back into a ponytail.

"Because I wasn't needed." I grunted. "When everyone in your traveling group is a demon slayer of some sort, when you're the youngest, you don't normally get much recognition."

"Tell me about it." She seemed almost friendly for a moment. But then it passed, and she looked uneasily down at the ground.

"So what's your story? Were you kicked out?" I asked. "And I know you're a hanyou. So don't try to hide it anymore, 'kay?"

She scoffed. "Yeah. I'm a hanyou. You could say I wasn't exactly wanted either. But I left on my own."

"To find what?"

"Not sure. Never got that far. I just wanted to get away."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Oh my God." I said. "That's young."

"Not that young. I'm more capable than most adults at almost anything. Just try me." There it was again – that resemblance to Inuyasha. The vicious, demon glint in her amber eyes was just like Inuyasha's. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." I replied. Just then my stomach grunted again, and a wave of nausea flooded my synapses. I reeled back and forth for a second before she grabbed my shoulders. I think the sudden contact snapped me back to reality.

"God, don't die on me." She smiled. "I wouldn't want that on my conscious. Killing a Taijiya, her baby and her cat demon."

"I told you, Kaida is not my baby. She's my friend's baby." I grunted, pulling myself back to conscious. "And you wouldn't seriously leave a little baby alone in the forest to die, would you?"

"Probably not. But I don't want a baby on my hands." She leaned back to her sack, and finally pulled out a smaller fish. "Here. Eat it."

"Um, thanks." I whispered gratefully, taking it. "What about you?"

"I don't need to eat human food." She responded. "I'm still half-demon. I can get food from other places. By the way," she smiled, "my name is Nariko."

"I'm Kaza." I smiled through a mouthful of fish.

"Kaza?" Her eyebrows arched. "That's a weird name. It means – "

"Wind, yeah, I know. Parents were crazy. Wind goes back a long way in my family." I felt the pull of the Kazaana against the beads.

We sat in silence after that while I ate the fish, feeling relief flood back into my system from the nourishment. It wasn't exactly my favorite, but it sure as hell was better than starving. Finally I stood up and said,

"Hey, look, Kaida's gonna be waking up soon. Thanks a lot for the fish. It really meant a lot."

Nariko nodded. "Hey, Kaza?"

"Yeah?"

"How do I say this, god…Can I come with you?"

"Huh?" I turned around to stare at her.

"It would be to your benefit. I can hunt. I can get food for you and the baby. I can be protection."

"Thanks, but I have protection. Kirara's amazing." Why the hell did she want to come with me? "Anyway, what's in it for you?"

"Companionship, I guess." She stood up. "I don't like wandering around the forest by myself, you know. And you're years older than me, and a Taijiya. So I think I could learn something from you."

"What on earth could you learn from me?" Now I was really amazed. She thought she could learn something from me aside from screwing up your life and pissing off your parents?

"Yeah. You seem like you've got a lot to teach."

"You're friggin' kidding me." I sighed, and walked forward, pushing my hair back before I was right in front of her. "Look, Nariko, hun. There's something you really need to know about me before you want to travel with me. I am cursed. Okay? Cursed." I shoved my right fist up in her face. "This is the Kazaana. It's an endless wind tunnel. It sucks in everything standing in its way. It's been in my family for four generations. And it keeps getting bigger. If I don't find and kill the demon who's cursed me with it, eventually, it will suck me up too. I am doomed to die before my twenty-fifth birthday, you understand? You'll be flirting with hell if you travel with me."

I shook my head. "Go find someone better. I'm not the mentor you want." Balling my fists, I turned around and picked up the sleeping baby from Kirara's warm hide. I cradled her in my arms, then clicked to Kirara and started to walk away.

Her voice came again. "Flirt with Hell, you say?"

I turned again. Her white hair was blowing in the soft breeze, and she had the biggest smile on her face I'd ever seen. My breath caught in my throat.

"I've dated Hell a couple of times. He's a two-timing, cheating bastard, but that's what makes it fun, right?"

I was frozen for a second. Then a smile blossomed on my face.

"Alright. Let's go. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

And the next time I turned around to walk away, Nariko was at my side, smiling with that little fang glinting at her lip. And I didn't really regret it anymore.

I come from a long and proud tradition of two-timing, cheating bastards, after all. And flirting with Hell is what I do every weekend.

* * *

**Cheesy, cheesy, CHEESY!! But it was necessary. And at least we have some action. This has been a very boring story so far. Anyway, please review, i really appreciate every one! luv ya'll - PVB**


	9. Outta My Way

**Oh, my God, I haven't updated in so long! I'm so sorry! You guys must've thought this story was done...but i really really don't want to study for finals, so i'm like, let's update on fanfiction! Anyway, hopefully the story'll start rolling soon, but until then, enjoy, and i'm sorry for taking so long!

* * *

**

Chapter Nine – Outta My Way

_Maybe I should have listened to Kanaye, _Akina thought.

She was standing in front of two thrones, utterly huge and regal in their image. The Queen and King of the wolves sat in them, glaring at the young girl.

_This would have been so much easier if they weren't my parents._

"Akina." Kouga began. "We really need to talk, young lady."

"No shit." She grumbled. "Why else would I be here?"

Kouga growled in annoyance and stood up. "You see? That's exactly what I mean! You're the Wolf Demon Princess, and you need to start acting like royalty."

"Why, so you guys can marry me off to some rich demon bastard?"

"Not necessarily." Her mother, Ayame, said. "I married Kouga of my own choice."

"But he was still royalty."

"You need to stop these snappy comebacks, Akina." Kouga said. "They aren't becoming of you."

She sighed. "At least you know I'm smart and not a brainwashed, obedient child."

"Brainwashed, obedient children are much better than smart, rebellious, insolent ones."

"I'm not insolent!" Akina barked. "You guys just still treat me like a damn puppy, on a leash 24/7. I'm fifteen and perfectly capable of standing my own."

"Then you need to start proving it." Ayame replied.

"How?" Akina was starting to get annoyed.

"For starters, you could stop running away to other countries."

Akina moaned and plopped down on the ground, burying her head in her hands. "Not this again. We've already been over this a million times before."

"That's because it's a serious problem, Akina. This is going to destroy our reputation, if our daughter starts going to other countries, people – "

"Are going to think that you're a bad ruler, and armies are going to come and overthrow you and then where would we be?" Akina cut off Kouga's lecture in a sing-song voice. "We're doing a good job of providing for you and your brothers, and all you do is waste it by partying in other countries. You're going to end up pregnant, or arrested, or dead because of this behavior, Akina. Why can't you be like your brothers?" She ended with a glare.

Kouga glared back. "Well, why can't you?"

"Because I want to live my life to the maximum, and being a Princess in this boring wolf territory really doesn't cut it."

"Kanaye and Raidon respect this territory. They're concerned about its future. You're going to be running this country, and you should be a bit more conservative." Ayame said.

"No, I'm not." She rolled her eyes. "I'm the youngest child, I'm not going to rule the territory until after Kanaye and Raidon _and _their kids die off. And anyway – " she smiled ruefully. "What makes you think I give a flying shit what happens to this territory?"

At that, Kouga's patient king attitude wore off. "You insolent little wench. I can't believe this!" He turned to Ayame. "What do you think will snap her back to reality? She has to learn to respect this territory that I won, and obviously this kind of punishment isn't working for her!"

The Wolf Queen Ayame took a long look at her daughter. Akina's heart started to pound, even though she tried to calm herself. Ayame was as beautiful as she had been as a teenager, with grass-green eyes and flowing red hair. Her tribe were the white wolves, so her complexion was flawless, save for some freckles. Her white fur cape draped elegantly over her arms.

After almost five minutes of looking straight at Akina, Ayame said slowly, "Kouga, do you remember what we were going to have Kanaye and Raidon do this year?"

"No. What?"

Now Ayame was smiling. "We were going to have them go throughout Japan, find out our old alliances, and eliminate our old enemies."

Kouga's eyes lit up. "Yeah. Now I remember."

Akina's palms were starting to sweat, and her heart was hammering. She knew she was in for something serious this time. Her parents looked perfectly happy.

"Akina…" Ayame said, "You are going to take Kanaye and Raidon's place."

"_What?"_ She rasped.

"You are going to travel throughout all of Japan. You know about our old alliances and enemies – Naraku, Inuyasha, the Taijiyas, the dog demons, the priestess Kikyo, Naraku's incarnations. You have to find them – if they were our alliances, strengthen the bonds. And if they were our enemies, you're going to destroy them."

Akina was only shocked for a second. Then she jumped up. "What the hell?" She roared. "I have to go through Japan and find all these guys? That could take years! And how the hell am I supposed to know where they are, or even if some of these guys are even alive anymore?"

Ayame cocked an eyebrow. "Well, that's what you're going to tell us when you come back."

"Mom, you have got to be kidding me!" Akina screamed. "Kanaye and Raidon are the perfect sons, you should make them do it. I can't survive out there in the forests, I'd die!"

"You're a wolf demon, you can survive perfectly well. It'll strengthen your natural intuition of survival."

"And it should help you learn to uphold the family's honor." Kouga added. "This is perfect for you."

" 'Perfect' meaning that you throw your only child into Japan with no training whatsoever and expect her to survive on her own for however long it takes her to find all those old enemies?"

"Yes. Basically." Kouga grinned. "You leave tomorrow."

"What the hell?!" Akina stamped her foot and clenched her fists. "You guys can't be serious. It'll be months before I get back, Mom!"

"Maybe that'll be long enough for you to take some responsibility for your territory."

"Goddamn it." Akina couldn't even comprehend what she was about to do. "I just…you know what, whatever!" She barked. "I'll do it! I'll find all those old guys and do a better at it then Kanaye and Raidon put together! And I'll be back before the year's over too! Just watch me, dammit!"

She threw her hair back and stormed out of the room.

* * *

**I love Akina. Anyway, please review! (you can bash me if you want lol) I still love my stories!**


	10. Rumours

Chapter Ten – Rumours

"Hey, Kaza?"

"Yo."

"Can I hold Kaida?"

"That's about as likely as me setting my ass on fire." I said with a sardonic smile.

"You don't seem happy about holding her." Nariko stomped on a stubborn bunch of weeds. "I just wanna hold the baby."

"She's not fun, lemme tell you." Said baby was particularly grumpy this morning. It was hard for her to take naps while we were out here.

"Then why won't you let me hold her?"

"Cause I promised her mother I'd look after her."

"I still swear you're her mother." The hanyou muttered. I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, we do not look anything alike. And does it look like I'm healthy enough to bear a child?"

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I hardly have any body fat." I said, poking my flat stomach. "Look. That's all muscle. Fine and dandy when you're fighting demons, but not so good for kids. Didn't your mom ever tell you that?"

"My mom never talked about her having me." Nariko said darkly.

I didn't pursue the subject. Kirara mewed, as if telling both of us to shut up, and we walked in silence.

Having Nariko around wasn't all bad though. I did enjoy the company, and she helped with Kaida a lot. Also, she hunted. My specialty was raw strength and precision, not the stealth you need to track down animals like deer. Nariko, being half dog, could do it.

We'd been alone for nearly a week. Kaida had stopped crying for Kagome – she just seemed out of sorts. I was trying as much as I could to get her back to normal, but for a six-month-old out in the forests of Japan, our personal luxuries were greatly diminished.

I was having problems too. I had absolutely nothing with me, so that meant that I walked and slept in my leather Taijiya suit, which was starting to get dirty and disgusting. I was reminded of my old, tattered, repulsive kimono, the one that had gotten me through two fights with Naraku (both victorious, mind you) and nearly three months wandering in Japan.

Another thing I was starting to notice was the similarities between Nariko and Inuyasha. Becoming more pronounced the longer we went, it was quickly obvious that it was no coincidence that they were both dog-human hanyous with resolutely stubborn tempers and strong powers. Nariko was quite a good hunter, and she could track down game with little interference from me. In fact, I was getting a little annoyed. We hadn't had any demons, so there was no way I could show how kick-ass I was with those little bastards. It was like Nariko was contributing more to our little party than I was, and it annoyed me.

We were looking for my parents. Nariko still hadn't told me her business or her family, and neither had I. She only knew we were trying to get Kaida back, which we could both agree on. But one night, sitting around a low campfire, I decided to ask her about it as we were having our normal meal of smoked deer meat.

"Hey, Nariko?"

"Yeah?" She said through a mouthful of deer.

"Look, I was trained as a Taijiya, and I do know my fair bit about demons…you're half dog demon, obviously."

"Thank you, I had no idea." She drawled. I was quite impressed. She was starting to talk like me.

"But there's only one pure-bred dog demon left, and that's Sesshoumaru."

"Lord Sesshoumaru to you." She grunted, then suddenly her eyes widened and she almost dropped her deer meat. I grinned.

"Aaah, so you do know him."

"I know him." She replied shortly.

"You know him? Goes back a couple family generations, huh? Or maybe not too far…" I hinted.

"If you're saying he's my father," Nariko grunted, "You can shut up. He's not my father, no more than you're Kaida's mother."

That was where I knew she was lying through her teeth. Nariko would never have given up on her dogged determination that I was Kaida's mother unless it was something exceedingly desperate. Sesshoumaru had to be her father. There was no other way this could have worked.

But then, I realized, looking down at Kaida sleeping on Kirara's warm hide, she was a cousin to Kaida, and Inuyasha's niece.

"Sesshoumaru has relatives, doesn't he?" I burst out.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

"Well…I'm just…"

"Trying to find out how a hanyou like me came around, huh?" Nariko said with a twisted smile. "None of my own choice, I'm afraid, nor my parents. Kind of an accident, you could say."

"Don't worry, kid, so was I." I said, helping myself to deer meat. "But I bet your dad wasn't dead when your mom was pregnant."

"Your dad was dead?" Now she was interested.

I hadn't told my story to many people over these years, and she seemed like a willing enough audience. I couldn't resist telling her, "As good as dead. He was in a trance with Naraku."

There was a sharp intake of breath; Nariko had hissed. She looked angry. "Filthy, bloodstained, vile scum, Naraku." She said. "I've never even met him, and I know I hate him. You should hear my parents talk about him. He ruined their lives."

_Oh, if only you knew, girl. _I tried very hard not to burst out, "He ruined your parents' lives? Take a good look at me! My hand has a friggin' hole in it!"

But then she continued with something that made me have to hold my tongue even harder. "At least the Daughter of the Wind killed him…if the rumors prove true, of course…she's supposed to be your age, and a Taijiya."

Nariko gave me a glance, but I just smiled. I'd never really been shy about telling people who I was before now, but somehow this made me hold my tongue.

"We can only hope the rumors prove true." I said with a smile.

Nariko looked at the fire. "Well, if they are true, your dad should be free now, shouldn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." I looked from Kirara and Kaida to the sword at my hip. "I wonder what he's doing right now…"

* * *

**Wow. Hi. It's been - what, a good year since I updated? Seriously, you all must've thought i was dead. Well, I pretty much emo for three months or so, then got back on my feet, then I went and partied it up in Europe...finished another novel...and I forgot about poor Kaza! But a few weeks ago I started getting reviews and people adding this to favorites and alert and stuff, and you know, WTF (has anyone noticed how it can also mean what the fck? Lol!!! sorry...) is a good story. I want to get some closure.**

**I really am sorry I haven't been updating...must've sucked for all you guys to wonder when i'm gonna finally update. And i always hated people who never updated and didn't finish the story...but hey! I'm back! I'll finish the story now! Please review, even if you want to kill me...i really appreciate them! Luv - PVB (who is not dead!)**


	11. The Firestorm

Chapter Eleven – The Rolling Storm

"Kagome," Sango gasped, "we have to stop."

"No, we can't!" Kagome dashed the tears out of her bloodshot eyes. "Kaida and Kaza could be anywhere."

"We have been walking," Miroku said pointedly, leaning on his staff, "for three straight days and nights. This is absolutely ludicrous."

"If you had a six-month baby out in the forests, you'd keep walking!" Kagome shrieked.

Sango dropped to the ground and said in a low growl, "My daughter's out there too, Kagome, so you can shut the hell up. We're worried about Kaza and Kaida too, but walking all over Japan is not going to get us anywhere. We have to take a break."

"I can't! Kaza doesn't know how to take care of her! Kaida's going to die if we can't get there! She can't die, Sango, not after everything she means to me!" Kagome was breathing heavily, and looked about on the brink of collapse. 

Inuyasha, who'd barely spoken these past couple of days, walked over to Kagome. He placed a hand on her shoulder and sat her down on the ground, where she leaned into him and cried on his shoulder. Inuyasha sighed and grudgingly held her, and Shippou leapt up into her lap.

"I miss Kirara." He said.

Kohaku sat down next to his sister and said, "This isn't the first time Kaza's been lost."

"No, she does it a lot, actually." Miroku said, managing a smile. "It's a little annoying, to be honest."

Sango smiled blankly. "Kaza's tough. I just don't know if she's going to get caught in another swarm of demons. But she has the baby this time, and Kagome's right, Kaza doesn't really know how to take care of her…at least they have Kirara."

"I just can't lose Kaida…what if she gets sick? What if she dies, out there in the wilderness without me? Inuyasha, we have to find her…Inuyasha…?"

Sango looked over to see Kagome shaking Inuyasha, whose eyes had gone white and was sitting rigidly. Shippou, in her lap, was experiencing the same thing.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" She said, shaking him some more. As Sango watched with a sickening feeling in her stomach, the corners of Inuyasha's eyes started to turn green.

Beside her, Kohaku snapped to attention. "Sango…"

"Kagome," Sango said, slowly standing up, "get away from Inuyasha."

"What?" Kagome said.

"Get away," Sango said quietly, starting to loosen Hiraikotsu from her back, "from Inuyasha and Shippou. Right now, Kagome."

Kagome gingerly eased Shippou off her lap. He tumbled to the ground, his spine straight as a tree. His eyes were turning green as well.

"What's going on?" Miroku said.

"Do you think it's…?" Kohaku asked Sango.

She nodded.

"_What_?" Kagome asked. 

At that moment, Inuyasha started to violently tremble. Green liquid started to leak out of his mouth. His whole body shook, but he stayed sitting rigidly straight. Shippou was convulsing.

"Oh, my God, we have to get out of here." Sango said, pulling her Hiraikotsu completely off her back. "It's a demon disease, they got it, I don't know how, but we have to leave before – "

Inuyasha turned his green eyes on Sango, Miroku, Kagome and Kohaku, and he raised his hands, claws fully drawn.

Kagome's scream echoed across the forest.

* * *

Kaza's POV

"Alright! A stream!" Balancing Kaida on my hip, I ran down to the bank of the stream that was bubbling bright, crystal blue through the field.

I dunked my head in and drank mouthfuls of the water. When I came up, my sheet of wet hair slapped my back. Beside me, Nariko and Kirara were drinking as well. I cupped my hand and gave Kaida some of the crystal cold water.

"This is awesome." Nariko breathed. 

"I'm taking a bath." I said, already taking my sword off. "I am disgusting. There is dirt on my dirt."

"Good idea. I'll go further downstream." Nariko stood up.

"Why? We're both girls."

Nariko bit her lip. "Stuff you don't need to see." And she vanished.

"Mysterious much?" I said, taking a quick glance around to make sure there weren't any demons or men. "Come on, Kaida, you wanna take a bath with Kaz?"

She grinned, and I pulled my Taijiya suit off and waded into the river. It was cold and felt deliciously amazing. I undressed Kaida and held her with me, splashing her and washing her dark hair. My hair hung long and unchecked down my back, and I put Kaida on the bank for a moment while I rubbed sand on my scalp and all over my body in a shitty substitute for soap. Kirara was splashing and playing around beside me.

Kaida understood splashing after a while, and was fully enjoying it. She started splashing me, though it wasn't really effective since she really only hit me with a few drops. I giggled and splashed her back.

All of a sudden, I heard a growl.

"Who the hell are you?" Nariko screamed from downriver.

"Someone who's about to kick your puppy ass, this is MY spot!" Someone else said with a roar.

"KAAAA-ZAAAA!" Nariko screamed.

"Oh, God!" I grabbed Kaida and splashed my way out of the scream, Kirara following me. I hastily threw on my suit, dripping wet, my hair splashing my back. I grabbed my sword and tried to put on Kaida's kimono as I sprinted down the riverbank. She started to scream, and I found a nice bush right by the river bank.

"Kirara, I'm begging you, be my AMAZING kitty and watch her, okay, please?" I begged. Kirara, being awesome like she was, transformed into her big kitty form and laid down, so I kissed Kaida and put her in the comfy little crevice of Kirara's stomach.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, please just watch her, okay?" I gasped, already running away to where I heard scuffles and screams. Throwing the sheath to the ground, I burst into the battle.

Nariko was being held by her white hair by another demon. She was a wolf demon, with tumbling red hair and green eyes. She was wearing a miniskirt and had a sword pressed to Nariko's throat.

"Who the hell are you?" I roared at her. "Let go of her!"

"I'm Akina, the Wolf Princess!" She said with a cocky grin. "Who the hell are you?"

"What problem do you have with Nariko?" I said.

"Little bitch here was bathing in MY stream and eating MY fish." Akina said, pressing the sword closer to Nariko's jugular.

"Let…me…GO!" And Nariko pulled out the bigger of the two swords she carried at her hip, knocking Akina's away in one movement and lunging for her. The two began to fight, lithe wolf demon with a tiny sword versus the raw dog demon with a sword that looked positively deadly.

"You know what this is, bitch?" Nariko said, swinging it downward. Akina parried. "This is Tenseiga! The sword of Sesshoumaru, the dog demon of the West! You've got nothing on me, mangy cur!"

"Sesshoumaru?" Akina spat, making a vicious stab for Nariko's stomach. "_Sesshoumaru_? You mean that fat dog who sits at home and polishes his trophies? That's the sword you're carrying? My sword is from Kouga, the King of the Wolves!" 

"Kouga?" I said in bewilderment. "You're _Kouga's_ kid? How the hell did that happen?"

"Yes, Kouga!" Akina said with a triumphant grin, slashing at Nariko again. "Much better lineage than that fat pussy _Sesshoumaru! _And you're not even full demon, either, little bastard bitch!"

"Kouga," Nariko grunted as she fought, "was so fantastically stupid that he let Naraku kill off all of his best fighters in one blow! You're proud to call him your Daddy? Stupidity must run in the family!"

"Sesshoumaru got his arm cut off by his hanyou of a brother! Maybe if you amount to anything in life, you'll be lucky enough to do even that!"

And I, realizing that there was a lot of family strife being spilled right now, figured that now was as good a time as ever to come clean with MY family history.

So I took a deep breath, raised my arm, and took off the beads.

The winds started immediately, and Nariko and Akina together stopped fighting and looked to where it was coming from. Their faces dropped as they struggled against the winds.

"Who are you?" Akina screamed as she plunged her sword into the ground, trying to find purchase. Nariko was doing the same thing.

"My name," I roared, "Is Kaza, the Daughter of the Wind!"

Both girls turned to me in complete shock.

"Now don't move!"

They didn't move. I pulled the rosary over my hand in one motion and glared down at them.

The Daughter of the Wind must not have been what they expected. I was wearing a lopsided, dripping wet Taijiya suit, with disheveled, dark wet hair that was barely controlled.

"Kaza?" Nariko gasped. "You're the Daughter of the Wind?"

"My parents are the monk Miroku and Sango, the last demon slayer in Japan." I said, planting my hands on my hips. "And my lineage is much stronger than either of yours, so let's settle this right now – I could kick either of your asses in a second, or just suck you in the Kazaana if I didn't feel like fighting, so what I say goes, you bitches GOT IT?"

Akina and Nariko nodded like whipped puppies. I was enjoying this.

"So you are Sesshoumaru's daughter?" I asked Nariko.

She nodded.

"Okay. Finally a full confession. Who's your mom?"

"Rin. She's a human." 

"Thank you for stating the obvious. For the record, Kaida back there – " I pointed behind me, "is the daughter of Kagome and Inuyasha, your father's brother – the one who cut off his arm." Nariko's eyes got huge. "She's your cousin, yes."

"And this little wolf bitch," I said, turning to Akina, "is Kouga's daughter? I'm not following. I thought your dad loved Kagome."

"He did," she said, still completely in shock, "but he married my mom. Ayame, another wolf demon."

"Alright. So you're pure blood."

"You're the Daughter of the Wind?" Nariko said. "God, I never knew. You killed Naraku?"

"Twice, thank you. But that's a very long story and involves my ass getting kicked multiple times, I'm not going to tell it…where's Kaida? And Kirara? Neither of you move!" I said, pointing to them. When I had their scared nods of assurance that they wouldn't move, I smiled and turned around.

Kirara was walking towards me, with Kaida on her back. But she was walking funny – almost rigidly. Her eyes were a bright, vivid green. So were Kaida's. My stomach started to grow cold as I saw Kaida look at me with eyes that didn't see. 

She raised one little hand – 

And there were five sharp claws instead of fingernails.

* * *

**Hey peeps! Pegelia's back. See, trust Pegelia. She will update...most of the time...like, has anyone noticed just how many K names are in this story? Like, not even kidding, we've got Kaza, Kagome, Kaida, Kirara, Kohaku, Kouga, Kanna, Kagura...and Akina and Nariko both have K's...i'm writing this and thinking, 'Was i retarded or what? Naming my main characters 'Kaza' and 'Kaida'?' This has to be one of the most damn difficult things to write, just because you're trying to figure out which 'K' name goes where! I'll change Kaza to like 'Patty' or something...nawww. REVIEW! Luv - PVB**


End file.
